A GUIDE 

TO AN 

IRISH GENTLEMAN 



SEARCH FOR A RELIGION. 



BV THE 

REV. MORTIMER O'SULLIVAN, A.M. 

RECTOR OF KILLYMAN. 



' Strike ! But hear me." — Themistocle». 



PHILADELPHIA: 
CAREY, LEA AND BLANCHARD, 
1833. 




Philadelphia : 
Printed by James Kay, Jr. & Co. 
Race above 4th Street. 



TO THOSE 
OF THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND 
WPIO ARE WILLING TO BELIEVE 
THAT THEIR COUNTRY HAD 
A NATIONAL FAITH AND A NATIONAL CHURCH 
BEFORE THE PAPACY OF ADRIAN IV. 
THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE INSCRIBED, 
BY ONE, WHO, 
IF NOT THEIR DEVOTED SERVANT, 
HAS EVER ENDEAVOURED 
TO APPROVE HIMSELF 

THEIR SINCERE FRIEND. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface - - - - - - ix 

Introduction - xlii 

Chap. I. Errors inciflent to unprovided Travel — 
Apostolical Fathers — Clemens, Ignatius — 
Unwarranted inferences from their writing's 17 

Chap. II. Eucliarist — Necessity of defining Doctrine 

— -Churches of Rome and of England - 30 

Chap. III. Testimony to Religious Truth — Scripture 

— Fathers — Jerome — Edinburgh Review 40 

Chap. IV. Testimony — Councils — Creeds— liiturgies 

— Fathers — Ignatius — Justin Martyr - 48 

Chap. V. Testimonies unsatisfactory where not fully 
stated — Augustine's Ruleof Interpretation — 
Erasmus — Pascal - - - - 67 

Chap. VI. Discipline of the Secret — Calumnies against 

early Christians — Impostures of Heretics - 78 

Chap. VII. Testimonies — Councils — Creeds — Litur- 
gies — Canon of the Mass now observed in 
Ireland - - - - - 95 

Chap. VIII. Scripture — Cyril of Jerusalem — Sixth 
A 2 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter of St John— 1 Epistle to Corinth- 
ians, c. 11. - - - 108 

Chap. IX. Transubstantiation compared with our 
Lord's Incarnation — the Trinity — Church of 
Rome cruel , . . - 124 

Chap. X. Tradition — Council of Trent, Irenseus, Pro- 
testant Doctrine — 2 Thessalonians - 134 

Chap. XI. Unbroken Succession — Baronius, Sponda- 
nus, Bellarmine — Papal Chair — Rig-ht of Pri- 
vate Judgment — Gregory Naziazen, Jerome 
— Exclusive Salvation — Creed of Pope Pius 
— Council of Trent, Scriptures — Dr Murray 
—Dr Doyle - - - - 151 

Chap. XII. Infallibility. Scripture not to be adduced 
by Roman Catholics, because its meaning* has 
been left unsettled — Erasmus — Jerome — 
Chrysostom. False translation — Creed of 
Pius IV. in 

Chap. XIIL InfaUibility— Abuse of Freedom — Valen- 
tinians — Rationahsts — Infallible Guide not as- 
certained — liellarmine— Augustine— -Canon- 
ical Books of Scripture — Jerome — Council 
of Trent - - - - - 191 

Chap. XIV. Resemblance between the Church of 
Rome and the Church of the Fathers — 
Lights — Incense, Sec. — Worship of Relics, 
&,c. —Basil — Origen — Chrysostom - - 203 

Chap. XV. Ancient Faith of Ireland— Singular Me- 
thod of Defence — Church of Ireland in- 
dependent — Baronius — -Lanigan — Adrian's 
Grant - - - - - 223 

Chap. XVI. Council of Trent bears testimony to the 
corruption of Romish Doctrine, and does 
not reform it — Index Expurgatorius — Cate- 
chism — Missal - 244 



CONTENTS. 



vii 



Chap. XVII. Termination of Trent Council — Confes- 
sion of Incompetency — IJeformers — Luther 
— Calumnies ag-ainst him— Cranmer — Hilde- 
brand Canonized - - - - 252 

Chap. XVIII. Church of Ireland — Testimony to its 
doctrine contrasted with the testimonies af- 
forded by the Church of Rome — Peculiar 
character of the Church of England - 263 

Concluding Address to the Roman Catholic Reader 290 



Appendix 



299 



1 



PREFACE. 



It is hoped, that but httle apology will be required 
to justify the appearance of the followiDg pages. 
" Is there not a cause 1"^ After an attack iipon 
our venerable religion, of a character such as the 
following pages shall sufficiently expose, some 
defence would, naturally, be looked for on the 
part of the Clergy of the established Church. 
Whether the defence here offered be worthy of 
the cause, it will be for others to judge. The 
public are fully aware of the very short time 
within which it has been prepared, and the au- 
thor confidently expects that it will be received 
with all reasonable indulgence. 

Not that he is desirous that his errors, if he 
has fallen into any, should be excused or pal- 
liated, or that his deficiencies, and of these he is 
fully conscious, should be overlooked ; but, he 
earnestly hopes that the reader may not mistake 
the inaccuracy, incidental to hurried composition, 
for weakness of argument, or imagine, that if, in 
the course of one short month, he may not have 
entirely succeeded in exposing the weakness or 



* 1 Samuel xviio 29. 



X 



PREFACE. 



unravelling the sophistry of the ingenious author 
of the Travels of an Irish Gentleman, the pro- 
positions contained in that popular work, should 
be considered as established because they may 
not, in these pages, have received a sufficiently 
satisfactory refutation. 

It is hoped, that this defence will exhibit but 
little appearance of controversial bitterness. It 
may be truly stated, that the author was more 
anxious that his words should impress convic- 
tion, than carry confutation ; and that any little 
triumph as an antagonist, which he may have 
imagined himself entitled to claim, was not 
thought of in comparison with the deep and the 
overpowering interest which he felt in the spiri- 
tual welfare of his Roman Catholic brethren. 
His hearty desire has been to lay before them such 
a statement of the case between their Church 
and that which is, as yet, by law established in 
these countries, as might lead to a candid recon- 
sideration of the great questions at issue between 
them ; convinced, as he is, that nothing but 
patient and unprejudiced attention, on their part, 
is necessary to lead them from the errors of their 
ways, and cause them to adopt, respecting the 
Church of England, the language which Peter 
addressed to our Lord, when he said, " to whom 
shall we go but to thee, for thou hast the words 
of eternal life." 

There are those who may suppose that the 
author has been unnecessarily parsimonious of the 
language of reproof, and, that the flippancy, the 
virulence, and invective which are not sparingly 
scattered through the pages of 'Hhe Travels," 
required severer animadversion. Against such 



PREFACE. 



xi 



censurers, he comforts himself with the behef, 
that the cause of truth will not suffer because it 
has been mildly vindicated ; and he would re- 
spectfully submit, whether, the importance of a 
speedy, as well as an effectual answer to the work 
in question being taken into account, he has not 
judged more wisely in addressing the reason^ than 
in appealing to the passions of his readers. He 
has not written to gratify the resentment of angry 
Protestants, but, to satisfy the judgment of re- 
flecting Roman Catholics; and, if he may flatter 
himself with having so far succeeded as to in- 
duce them to re-examine, in a spirit of fairness, 
the grounds upon which their Church lays claim 
to the spiritual authority which she exercises, he 
is well content to leave to his accomplished ad- 
versary the unenvied and unmolested enjoyment 
of the honours which are his due for the sportive- 
ness of his wit, the sprightliness of his narrative, 
the keenness of his sarcasm, and the brilliancy 
of his declamation. 

There is one omission, for which the author 
expects, not merely pardon but favourable ac- 
knowledgements. He has not offered his guid- 
ance through the daring impieties of rationalism. 
For the discovery of truth, it was not necessary 
to explore all the haunts of blasphemy. Those, 
whose steady minds qualify them for such peril- 
ous inquiries, have a guide, whose rare endow- 
ments, and sound principles, must render his 
escort universally acceptable. Is it necessary to 
name Mr Rose ? 



INTRODUCTION. 



Public attention has recently been directed towards 
a very popular Work, in which religious controversy 
is invested with unwonted attractions, " Travels of 
an Irish Gentleman in search of a Religion." A brief 
outline of the Traveller's tale, would seem to furnish 
the most appropriate introduction for the following 
treatise. 

Some time in the year 18 — , a young Irish Gentle- 
man, a student in the University of Dublin, although 
a member of the Church of Rome, was smitten with 
love of a rich benefice, offered, on certain insinuated 
conditions, to his acceptance. He must, it is 
scarcely necessary to add, if he would secure the 
coveted opulence, embrace, at least outwardly, the 
Creed of the Church of England ; and to this, when 
the vision of wealth was first presented to him, he 
could not be reconciled. The inopportune reluc- 
tance by which he was embarrassed, did not arise 
from any attachment to the religion of his fathers. 
On the contrary, he appears to have distrusted his 
Church ; and, when he heard it represented as "a 
system of damnable idolatry, whose doctrines had 
not merely the tendency but the prepense design, to 
encourage imposture, perjury, and all other mon- 
strous crimes, he was already prepared, by the opin- 
B 



xiv 



INTRODUCTION. 



ions he had himself formed of his brother papists ^io 
be but too wilHng a recipient of such accusations 
against them from others. Though as man and as 
citizen he rose indignantly against these charges, yet, 
as Catholic he quailed inwardly under the fear that 
they were too true."* When such misgivings could 
not liberate him from the tyranny of " that scrupu- 
lous point of honour which had kept him wedded for 
better for worse to Popery, "t it is not wonderful 
that the attractions of Ballymuddragget were too fee- 
ble to deliver him from his unhappy, and (consider- 
ing the characteristic ingenuousness of early youth) 
unnatural alliance. 

Better days arrived. The " disabling statutes," 
(which his scrupulous honour" had converted into 
edicts forbidding God to work the miracle of his 
conversion), were repealed, and he rejoiced, as all 
generous natures would rejoice, in the freedom to 
lay down the splendid hypocrisy of his previous life, 
and, without prejudice to his wordly reputation, be- 
come a follower of the truth. He had, even in the 
time of his darkness, " knelt nightly to his prayers, 
with a degree of trust in God's mercy and grace, at 
which a professor of the hve points would have been 
not a little scandalized,"! and which, if the trust 
were sincere, forms an inexplicable contrast to the 
insincerity of his religious professions. Henceforth, 
however, he is free to profess what he believes. He 
can discharge his duty towards God without violating 
the more sacred obligation to his honour ; and, as it 
was not unreasonable to anticipate, the triumph in 
which he welcomed the tidings of emancipation, was 
accompanied by a resolution to manumit himself ; as, 

with something of the ascendancy strut already per- 
ceptible" he exclaimed " I will be a Protestant. "§ 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 4, 5. 
i Ibid. p. 9. 



f Ibid. p. 5. 
§ Ibid. p. 5. 



INTRODUCTION. 



XY 



In his determination to abandon the Church of 
Rome, the young Traveller was wholly uninfluenced 
by the sordid motives which had, upon a former occa- 
sion, not a little disturbed him. He resolved to seek, 
not the most lucrative, but, ''the most approved spe- 
cies of Protestantism ;" and, instead of directing his 
search to the articles and liturgy of the Church in 
which he could find great gain, took sincerity for 
his guide, and determined that his religion should be 
'' of the purest and most orthodox pattern."* His 
search was not prosperous. He discovered that some 
Protestant communions did not maintain opinions 
which were held by certain divines in the primitive 
Church, that all were not exempt from tenets in old 
time accounted heresy, and he was unable to discern 
in the Ritual of any, that attractive paganism which 
was, in ancient days, excused as a device to win 
Heathens from their idols, and which, where there 
are no more heathens to allure, the Church of Rome 
has still the boast of retaining;* he was not satisfied 
with the Lutherans or the Rationalists of Germany, 
with the Calvinists of Geneva, or with various mis- 
representations of the Church of England ; and, as 
the only resource from doubt or unbelief, he sur- 
rendered himself to an authority, which, for the pur- 
pose of guarding the faith, places reason among those 
vanities and sinful lusts to which the renunciations 
in baptism should be extended. 

An enterprise thus begun, continued, and ended, 
may very naturally be supposed to have suggested 
the compilation of a treatise like that here presented 
to the reader. Whatever may be thought of the 
conclusion at which the young Traveller arrived, 
he seems, by his own report, to hav^e commenced 
his voyage of discovery without due preparation, and 



* Travels, vol. i p. IK 



t Ibid. p. isr. 



xvi 



INTRODUCTION. 



to have prosecuted it with more of ardour than judg- 
ment. An exposure of his errors may be of use, if 
it served no other end than to prove, that in an in- 
quiry, confessedly the most momentous to which 
human faculties can be directed, providence and cir- 
cumspection are more necessary than genius, and 
that even sincerity itself is not more truly indis- 
pensable. 



GUIDE 



TO Air 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



CHAPTER I. 



Errors incident to unprovided Travel — Apostolical Fathers 
— Clemens, Ignatius — ^Unwarranted inferences from their 
writings. 

In probable matters, testimony, in order to have its 
real purport ascertained, must be compared with 
each of the conflicting statements which it is to dis- 
credit or establish. The young Irish Traveller ap- 
pears to have been uninstructed by this obvious truth, 
and the manifold errors, with which his pages are 
disfigured, seem no more tlian the natural conse- 
quences of his forge tfulness or neglect. From the 
opinions he had himself formed of his brother Pa- 
pists,'' he entertained the darkest suspicions against 
the Popery that now is ; of Protestantism, his ima- 
ginings appear far more favourable ; of neither doea. 
he pause to inquire if his judgment is correct, 
while, in a spirit far more adventurous than that of 
B 2 



GUIDE TO AN 



that such surprise would better grace that class of 
controversialists, who challenge their adversaries, to 
deny, that St Paul wrote an epistle to the Romans, 
or to prove, that he addressed any exhortation to the 
Protestants, 

Disproportionate, however, to the occasion, as 
the traveller's remorse and surprise appear to have 
been; when seen in connexion with the documents 
which provoked them, they seem still more unac- 
countable. " There was still," he writes, " enough 
of the Papist lingering in my heart to make me 
turn over the pages of Pope St Clement with pecu- 
liar respect, and I could not but see that, even in 
those simple, unpolemic times, when the actual ex- 
ercise of authority could be so little called for, the 
jurisdiction of the See of Peter was fully acknow- 
ledged. A schism, or as St Clement himself de- 
scribes it, a foul and unholy sedition having broken 
out in the Church of Corinth, an appeal was made 
to the Church of Rome for its interference and 
advice, and the epistle which this holy father ad- 
dressed to the Corinthians in answer, is confessedly 
one of the most interesting monuments of ecclesias- 
tical literature that have descended to us." The 
epistle of Clement is the evidence that " in those 
simple, unpolemic times" when " a foul and unholy 
sedition broke out in the Church of Corinth," the 
jurisdiction of the See of St Peter was fully ac- 
knowledged." How comes it, that a single passage 
from the eulogised epistle, or from any similar 
document, is not quoted ? How comes it, that 
the young traveller, in this abstinence, follows ex- 
actly the example of a well-known controversialist, 
who alludes to the epistle of Clement to the Co- 
rinthian Church, but studiously withholds from his 
readers the knowledge of a single syllable of its 
contents. When a practised polemic refers to an 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



21 



obscure document, and relies on the indolence of 
modern days for its remaining obscure, it is a matter 
of no difficulty to understand that he is labouring 
in an unhappy vocation, and one does not hesitate 
long, about giving his conduct its proper name. 
But when an ingenuous young man, an Irish Gen- 
tleman, adduces, as favourable to a Romish doctrine, 
an epistle, which, were there not better proof abound- 
ing, would be produced as a strong argument against 
it, and omits the quotation of any one expression 
by which his singular inference could be justified or 
excused, it is difficult indeed to understand his alle- 
gation and his omission, and to give the proceeding 
a name which shall be at the same time appropriate 
and respectful. 

The epistle of Clement is, as it has been described, 
an interesting monument of ecclesiastical literature, 
and, although it deals not a little in fable, assuming 
the story of the phoenix as true, and arguing from 
the metamorphoses of that bird in favour of " the 
resurrection," it contains many a charitable exhort- 
ation and many a Christian precept, but not a sin- 
gle expression which asserts or implies a title on the 
part of a Roman, or any other bishop, to exercise 
jurisdiction or authority over churches having their 
own episcopal superintendant. Beside, it is to be 
observed, the epistle quoted as that of Clement, is 
not written in his name. It purports to be addressed 
by " the Church of God which is at Rome, to the 
Church of God which is at Corinth," and does not 
once allude to the office, the authority, or the name 
of the honoured individual who is its reputed author.* 

* It is worthy of remark, that, of late days, the Church 
of Rome refers to this epistle of Clement as a substantive 
witness in her favour, while, in times when the controversy 
with her was better understood, she appears to have been 
contented with endeavouring" to weaken the force of the 



22 



GUIDE TO AN 



And yet it was written on an occasion which impe- 
ratively demanded the exercise of every righteous 
power by which evil could be averted. A " foul and 
unholy sedition" had broken out. A representation 
of the evil was made to the seat, as it is now de- 
scribed, of supreme authority. Had the power or 
jurisdiction of the Roman See been, at that day, 
such as has since been claimed for it, surely it is 
reasonable to conclude, that, in so perilous an emer- 
gency, it would have made itself felt, and that, after 
having recited what was to be believed or to be 
shunned, it would pronounce a curse on all who 
should disobey; — or, at least, that it would assert 
for the Bishop of Rome an equal power with that 
which was exercised by the Apostle Paul, and com- 
mand that the Corinthians themselves should put 
away the authors of offence. 

Nothing can less resemble the texture of a Papal 
Rescript or Bull, than Clement's interesting epis- 
tle. It is mild, modest, and persuasive, urgent in 
entreaty, abundant in reasoning, as a fraternal ad- 
monition should be, and, as becomes a fraternal 
admonition, arrogating nothing on the ground of 
mere authority. It recommends the study of the 

evidence it was said to bear against her. In reply to such 
arguments, as, that, if Clement or any other individual 
possessed supreme or even what is now esteemed episcopal 
authority, his name should have appeared, Cotelerius, of 
the Sorbonne, answers, Because it was the common wish 
of the apostolic church to see the church of the Corin- 
thians at peace, and the concord which was evident in the 
form of the epistle would be a strong" incentive. " Quoniam 
totius apostolicas ecclesise commune votum erat, pacatam 
cenere Corinthorum ecclesiam, a Petroquoque Pauloque 
fundatam, ingensque futurum erat Corinthis incentivum ipsa 
Romanorum simul scribentium concordia. " Patr. Apostol. 
The Corinthians were to be influenced by the example of 
Roman concord, not by the authority of the Roman See, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



23 



Scriptures, *'the true oracles of the Holy Spirit," 
it directs the especial attention of the Corinthian 
Churches to the Epistle of St Paul, " in which he 
admonished you concerning himself and Cephas, 
and Apollos, because even then ye had formed par- 
ties," and, instead of denouncing any who should 
resist its injunctions, utters the following Christian 
and charitable exhortation: ''Who, among you, is 
generous; who is merciful; who is full of love; let 
him say, if sedition, and discord, and schism have 
arisen on account of me — I depart — I go wherever 
you desire." This is the injunction of Clement, and 
(instead of pronouncing a curse on one who departed 
from Corinth, because he could not accommodate 
himself to the religion of the place), he adds, that he 
who shall have adopted such a course shall have 
great honour in the Lord, and every place will re- 
ceive him." If this be the language of popery, it 
were much to be desired, that the modern advocates 
and organs of that calumniated system, would con- 
descend to receive and to use it. 

The other doctrines by the discovery of which, on 
the first day of his search, the young traveller was 
surprised and agitated, have, as their voucher, an 
epistle of Ignatius, a martyr and Bishop of Antioch, 
whose testimony is adduced, also, in corroboration 
of the papal pretensions. He addressed the Church 
" which presides in the place of the Roman reli- 
gion,"* thus limiting, so far as his testimony can 
have weight, the jurisdiction of the Papal chair, 
within bounds, which, were pure doctrine taught in 
the Churches they enclosed, many enlightened Pro- 

* Tiic orig-inal of the epistle of St Ignatius has not been 
found, the earliest copy is a Latin version. The place of 
the Roman region extends so far as the jurisdiction of the 
praefect of the city was recognised. Within this the re- 
gionary deacons" ministered. — See Baronius Ann. 112 — 15. 



24 



GUIDE TO AN 



testants would not desire to narrow ; but, to the be- 
wildered faculties of the young Hibernian, over whom 
amazement seems to have cast a glamour, an epistle, 
of which the superscription limits the presidency of 
the Roman Church to congregations in a particular 
dictrict, and which no where names or alludes to the 
Bishop of E-ome, is read as if it ascribed not pre- 
sidency but supreme power, and this, not to the 
Church which, it addresses, but to the Bishop whom, 
even by a salutation, it never once acknowledges. 
It would be almost unpardonable to dwell any longer 
on a matter like this, or to offer formal proof that 
" the Church presiding in the place of the Roman 
Region'^ is not synonymous with " a Pope or a 
Bishop of Eome presiding over the whole Christian 
world 

" In speaking of the Docetae, or Phantastics, a 
sect of heretics, who held that Christ was but, in 
appearance man^ — a mere semblance or phantasm of 
humanity — Ignatius says, They stay away from the 
eucharist and from prayer because they will not ac- 
knowledge the eucharist to he the flesh of Christy that 
flesh which suffered for our sins, " Now when it is 
considered that the leading doctrine of the Docetae 
was, that the body assumed by Christ was but appa- 
rent,, there cannot be a doubt that the particular 
opinion of the orthodox to which they opposed them- 
selves, was that which held the presence of Christ's 
body in the Eucharist to be real. It is evident that 
a figurative and unsubstantial presence such as Pro- 
testants maintain, would, in no degree, have offended 
their anti-corporeal notions, but, on the contrary, 
indeed, would have fallen in with that wholly spi- 
ritual view of Christ's nature which had led those 
heretics to deny the possibility of his incarnation!!" 



* Travels, kc. vol. i. p. 16. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



25 



This passage has been quoted in full, because it did 
not appear reasonable to require of any reader that he 
should, on secondary evidence, ascribe to the young 
traveller such inaccuracy in reasoning. The Docetae 
accounted it blasphemy to teach that Christ had a 
real body, and yet it would have fallen in v^ith their 
view of his nature," to join in the commemoration 
of a real body given for our sins, a real blood- 
shedding, and a real death and passion. Had the 
argument been, that they who denied Christ's body 
on the cross, must also have denied its presence on 
the altar, a champion of the Church of Rome might 
have found the reasoning inconveniently correct, but, 
to say, that men might, consistently and naturally, 
set forth a sign of that, which, they maintained, 
should not be signified because it could not be, is to 
form a conlusion directly at variance with the pre- 
mises from which, by some inexplicable process, it 
is exhorted.* 

* The Docetae did not all refrain from the Holy Commu- 
nion. Some received the sacrament not as a commemora- 
tion of Christ's death and passion, but as a type of their 
mystical union with God. This was not unknown to the 
author of "the Travels," who was aware of another cir- 
cumstance also, of which he does not apjDear to have made 
the use which might have been expected from a young" and 
ingenuous inquirer. He writes, note to p. 177, vol, i. 
"To the Marcionites of the next age, who had also their 
eucharist, though believing with the Docetae that Christ's 
body was but apparent, it was urged as an argument both 
by Irenaeus and TertuUian, that in owning the sacrament of 
the body and blood, they confuted their own opinion. 
Will it still, after this, be contended that the ancient Chris- 
tians did not belie^'e in the reality of the presence." ^The 
reader will be better able to answer when he has before him 
the arguments which these early writers employed. "Ire- 
naeus argues that matter must have been framed by God the 
Father, otherwise heretics *'in offering what according to 
us are his creatures show him covetous of what is not liis 
C 



26 



GUIDE TO AN 



The other part of the argument from Ignatius, 
that in which, by accusing heretics of denying, he 
may be regarded as, in his own person, affirming, 
the doctrine of the real presence, shall be in due time 
considered. For the present it may be sufficient to 
remind the reader, that many preliminary matters 
must be decided before the judgment of the martyr 
can be thoroughly understood. For example^ — Did 
he write literally? What is the eucharist — Does 
that term signify the visible elements? Does it 
mean outward participation? Does it mean an in- 
ward and spiritual grace? Before the expression of 
Ignatius can be fully understood, all these questions 
must be answered. In a word, whether his testi- 
mony favour the doctrine of the Roman or the 

own." He contends, that matter is capable of a resurrec- 
tion, adopting" a similar argumentum ad hominem. ** As*' 
(he assumes the admission), "bread which is of the earth, 
receiving invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but 
Eucharist, consisting of two natures, an earthly and a heaven- 
ly, so also our bodies receiving Eucharist are no longer cor- 
ruptible ^ having hope of a resurrection." (Iren. lib. iv. 
c. o4. ) The argument of Irenseus not only admits the con- 
tinuance of the bread, but would, under a supposition that 
the substance of bread departed, be an absurdity. The 
reply would then be obvious : since the bread, when bless- 
ing has come upon it ceases to exist, so also shall our bo- 
dies cease to be ; — and to the former allegation heretics 
would reply, — nay, we do not esteem God covetous of 
what is not his own, since we offer not bread, but Christ 
his blessed Son. The argument of Tertullian is still more 
clear and decisive. "He made it (die bread), his body, 
saying this is my body, that is, the ticube of my bodt, 
but there could not be a figure, unless there had been a 
real body." Lib. 4. Cont. Mar. C. 40. Now let the reader 
answer the question, and let him reflect on the simplicity 
of this most credulous young man, who could be persuaded 
that the Marcionites found it practicable to believe in tran- 
substantiation, although they conceived it impossible that 
Christ could have a body. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



27 



Reformed Church cannot be known, until the doc- 
trine held by these communions respectively has 
been, at least partially, described and comprehended. 
To afford this indispensable information shall be 
attempted in the ensuing chapter ; the remainder of 
the present must be devoted to the other doctrines 
for which Ignatius is called to answer ; those respect- 
ing relics and tradition. 

"On turning to an account of the martyrdom of 
this same father, I fell upon a no less glaring speci- 
men of ipopish practice. Ignatius, as is well known 
to all readers of Martyrology, was delivered up to 
- be devoured by lions in the amphitheatre at Rome. 
After the victim had been despatched, the faithful 
deacons who had accompanied him on his journey, 
gathered up, as we are told, the few bones which 
the wild beasts had spared, and carrying them back 
to Antioch deposited them there religiously in a 
shrine, round which annually on the day of his mar- 
tyrdom the faithful assembled, and in memory of his 
self-devotion kept vigil round his relics."* There is 
something to be complained of here. The inquiring 
gentleman professes to have commenced his studies 
with the five " apostolical fathers, "t and yet he proves 
the popish practice" respecting relics, not by one 
of these early writers, but by the compiler, whoever 
he was, of " the martyrdom of St Ignatius;" — and 
because, perhaps, he found inserted in one volume by 
Cotelerius, the epistle of the Saint and the narrative 
of the historian, our traveller argues as if the authority 
of each were equally good : and thus, by the help, 
it may have been, of legends belonging to the middle 
ages, or, for ought his reader has been instructed, 
of the martyrologists of times more modern, he finds 
a " Popish practice" prevailing at the commence- 



* Vid. 1. p. 21. 



t P. 14. 



28 



GUIDE TO AN 



ment of the second century, and attested by the Apos- 
tolic Fathers. 

The confusion of mind in which he was betrayed 
into so grave an error, w^ould have been more par- 
donable in one who had not read that beautiful 
epistle of Ignatius which the young traveller, it is to 
be supposed, had carefully studied. It may, indeed, 
be termed beautiful, not because of the grace or elo- 
quence, or wisdom of its expressions, but for the 
exhibition it gives of that steady faith, and that self- 
renouncing humility, by which christians are adorned 
and sustained. But there is a peculiarity in the 
epistle by which the Irish Gentleman ought to have 
been instructed. No man can read it, without being 
struck with the earnestness of the martyr, that his 
death should be such as must render the worship of 
his relics impossible. " Entice them" (the wild 
beasts) to be my sepulchre, and to leave nothing of 
my body, that so, after my sleep, I may not be trou- 
blesome to any. Then shall I be a true disciple of 
Jesus Christ, when tho world shall not see my body.* 
Had it been believed, when this epistle w^as written, 
that miracles were wrought by the relics of departed 
saints, Ignatius would not have been desirous to 
withhold from his flock, memorials which interest 
as well as affection would urge them to covet. It 
was, however, scarcely necessary to offer this remark. 
It is not alleged in the passage quoted in The 
Travels" that miracles were wrought at the vigils 
kept round those honoured remains. The practice, 
which the young traveller describes, was rather dan- 
gerous as leading to superstition, than idolatrous in 
itself, and, if he had compared it with the doctrine 
held by the Church of Rome at this day, he would, 
perhaps, have understood the v/isdom of the martyr's 



* Ignat. ad Rom. 4. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN 



29 



earnest prayer, and the faithfulness and prudence of 
the reformed churches. 

It should have been mentioned, also, to make 
the matter still worse, that, when on his way through 
Asia, to the scene of his sufferings, this illustrious 
father, in exhorting the churches to be on their 
guard against heresy, impressed earnestly upon them 
to holdfast by the traditions of the Apostles, thus 
sanctioning that twofold rule of faith, the unwritten 
as well as the written word, which by all good Pro- 
testants is repudiated as one of the falsest of the false 
doctrines of popery."* This should have been men- 
tioned — and more — namely, where it had been found. 
The expression in italics may be read in the Ecclesi- 
astical History of Eusebius.t He exhorted them 
to hold fast by the tradition of the apostles which, for 
safety (being now about to suffer martyrdom^), he 
thought it necessary to have committed to writing.^^ 
Can this be the passage in which unwritten tradition 
is recognised as a portion of the twofold rule of faith, 
distinct from the scripture. Here it is broadly stated 
that the tradition of the apostles, so far as it was 
necessary to the faith, was written. How could it 
constitute a testimony distinct from scripture ? Has 
it become unwritten by having its records lost ; are 
christians of the nineteenth century called on to be- 
lieve, that they who lost irrecoverably the written 
documents, have guarded faithfully the truths which 
those writings were designed to secure ; and can the 
Church of Rome adduce in favour of her claims to be 
respected as the depositary of unwritten tradition, a 
testimony, which seems to have no other scope or 
purpose than that of convicting her of negligence or 
falsifying her doctrine ? 

* Travels, vol. i. p. 21. f ^i^- 3- ^ 

c 2 



30 



GUIDE TO AN 



The passage from Eusebius has been advanced,^ — • 
one Reverend divine quoted part of it — the British 
critic completed the quotation and exposed the arti- 
fice. A worthy successor tried it in another form,^ — 
the Rev. James Phelan separated the words of the 
modern polemic from the expressions of the historian, 
and again tradition was found wanting.* It is some- 
thing too much, although not without precedent, that 
this relic of testimony in favour of tradition, itself a 
tradition repeatedly discredited and disgraced, should 
have been palmed on the unpractised simplicity of 
the young Hibernian, and that he should be made 
the luckless instrument, by whom the often proffered 
and rejected deceit, with all its brands of forgery 
upon it, was to be re-issued into controversial circu- 
lation . 



CHAPTER H. 



Eucharist — Necessity of defining' Doctrines — Churches of 
Rome and of Eng-land. 

The exposures in the preceding chapter have, it is 
hoped, satisfied the reader, that, to render the testi- 
mony of ancient writers subsidiary to the purposes 
of religious inquiry, a little previous knowledge is 

* The Catholic doctrine of tradition" by the Ylev. James 
Phelan, displays in a most unpretending" form, much re- 
search and ability, and will amply reward the student who 
makes himself acquainted with its argument and learning". 
The object of its author is to trace out the *' tradition'* 
which was in old time had in especial honour, and to prove 
that it was identical with what we term the Apostles' 
Creed.'' 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



31 



indispensable. We will, therefore, before examining 
the sentiments of the early Fathers on any point of 
doctrine, endeavour to ascertain existing opinions 
respecting it, assured, that, to one but superficially 
acquainted with the Creeds which are now professed, 
the Catholic doctrine of primitive times may often 
seem a counterpart of some modern corruption. 
We begin with " the Eucharist" as well because of 
the real importance of the doctrine, as for the promi- 
nence given it, and the consequences attached to it, 
in the Irish Gentleman's " Travels." 

When we inquire into the dogmas of the Church 
of Rome, it is of moment to learn their character from 
documents of acknowledged authority. Individual 
divines, and even collegiate bodies who have some 
temporary purposes to serve, who write with the 
passion of controversy in their hearts, or the fear of it 
before their eyes, cannot be expected to communicate 
the species of information which should satisfy an in- 
quirer, and for which a Church is to be held respon- 
sible. It will be necessary, therefore, to ascertain 
the doctrine which it is our purpose to examine, from 
those public decrees and those authorized formularies 
in which the Church of Rome declares that she speaks 
and is represented. The received and well known 
belief respecting the eucharist is, that it is at once a 
sacrifice* and a sacrament,t in which Christ, in the 
one, is offered as a bodily oblation to the Father, and 
in the other, is taken bodily into the bodies of all 
communicants. Such a statement may suffice where 
the doctrine is to be received v/ithout inquiry, but 
where it is to be examined and judged, an exposition 
ampler and more exact is necessary. 

The Council of Trent in the thirteenth session 
passed a decree concerning the eucharist, in which 



* Conc.Trid. Sess. 22. 



f Ibid. Sess. 13. 



32 



GUIDE TO AN 



the doctrine thenceforth to be preached and taught 
was explained and defined.* 

Chapter 1. Declared that ''in the sacrament of the 
eucharist, after the consecration of the bread and 
wine, our Lord Jesus Christ, very God and very man, 
is truly, really, and substantially, contained under 
the species (or appearance) of these sensible things. 

Chapter 2. That our blessed Lord instituted the 
sacrament to be a memorial of his death — a spiritual 
aliment of our souls, a pledge of glory to come, and a 
symbol of the unity of that body of which he himself 
is the head. 

Chapter 3. That the body and blood, soul and 
divinity of our Lord Christ exist entire under the 
appearances of either bread or wine " by virtue of 
the natural connexion and concomitance, by which 
these parts in our Lord, who is raised from the dead 
and dieth no more, are joined together, &c. 

Chapter 4. That by consecration of the bread and 
wine there is made a change of the whole substance 
of the bread into the substance of the body of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and of the whole substance of the 
wine into the substance of his blood ; a change which 
is appropriately called by the Holy Catholic Churchy 
transubstantiation. 

Chapter 5. That the faithful are required to pay to- 
the sacrament the worship of Latria which is due to 
God. 

These declarations which are, each of them, en- 
forced by an anathema, are those of the most mo- 
ment to be considered. They will at once render it 
clear to the reader why Protestant controversialists 
have applied themselves to the Romish doctrine of 
the eucharist as exhibited in the decree respecting 
transubstantiation, rather than in that which affirms 



* Ibid. Dec. de Euch. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



33 



the real presence. In truth, according to the natural 
order, the first decree should have declared the change 
which the elements of bread and wine undergo, and 
this change, of v/hich it is important to bear in mind 
an exact remembrance, is a conversion of the sub- 
stances of bread and wine into the suhstances of our 
Lord's body and blood. 

The reader need not be under an apprehension 
that he is about to be beguiled into a metaphysical 
disquisition ; but it is of much consequence that he 
keep in mind the distinction between " substance" 
and body." Had the Council of Trent defined 
the meaning of these words, it would perhaps have 
rendered comment unnecessary ; but, inasmuch as, 
employing scholastic terms, it left them unexplained, 
it is fitting to repeat, that, in the decree respecting 
transubstantiation, the doctrine affirmed is, that one 
part of the elements has been changed into one part 
of the body and blood of our Lord, that body and 
blood consisting of substance, solidity and other sen- 
sible qualities, and ''substance" only having been 
regarded in the decree. The importance of this dis- 
tinction will appear hereafter, — it is now noticed 
only for the purpose of fixing the precise nature of 
the change denoted by the word transubstantiation. 

The doctrine of the eucharist is not yet explained. 
It is necessary that the circumstances by which the 
consecration of the sacrament is affected shall also 
be made known. The Council of Florence had de- 
clared* " that the sacraments are made up of three 
parts," viz. : things as the matter, words as the 
form, and the person of the priest administering 
with the intention of doing what the church does — 
of which, if any be wanting, the sacrament is not 

* Dec, Eug". 4. Haec omnia sacramenta tribus perliclan- 
tur, &c. 



34 



GUIDE TO AN 



administered (perfieitur)." The Missal of Pius IV. 
and Clement VIIL (published according to a decree 
of the Council of Trent)* is precise in its enumer- 
ation of the defects whereby the consecration of the 
eucharist may be affected. — There may be defects in 
matter, in form, and in the person of the minister. 

1. In form; if the minister have not the intention 
to consecrate, or if he take any thing from the words 
of consecration, or change them so that their mean- 
ing is altered — the sacrament is not administered. 

2. In his person ; if he have not really obtained 
priest's orders, the consecration is void. 

3. In the matter ; if the bread be not wheaten, or so 
mixed with other grain as not to remain wheaten, or, 
if it be otherwise corrupt, there is no consecration — 
if it were made with rose (or distilled) water, the 
consecration is doubtful. 

If the wine has become sour or putrid, or has 
been made of sour or unripe grapes, or has been 
so mixed with watert that it has been adulterat- 

• See Sess. 25. De Ind. 

f The Council of Trent, session 22, prescribes that water 
should be ming-led with wine in the chalice, and pronounces 
an anathema ag-ainst all who gainsay. It is abundantly evi- 
dent, that, in primitive times, water was mingled with wine, 
although it does not appear that either Trent or any former 
Council make sufficient provision for satisfying* inquiries, 
that the water participates in the change which it pro- 
nounces to take place in the wine. The Catechism of the 
Council of Trent affirms, that, although the priest who 
should neglect to mingle water, would be guilty of a mortal 
sin, the sacrament might nevertheless be administered, and 
proceeds as follows : But the priests ought to take care, 
that, as, in the sacred mystery, they ought to mingle water 
with the wine, so also that they pour but a little thereinto. 
For by the opinion and judgment of ecclesiastical writers, 
that water is turned into wine. Therefore, Pope Honorius 
writes thus concerning it, ** there has been for a long time 
in your parts a pernicious abuse, to wit, that there is used 



IRISH GENTLEMAxN. 



35 



ed* — there is no consecration. The doctrine of the 
Church of Rome, therefore, as derived from the most 
authentic sources, may be thus stated : 

1. If the officiating priest had been validly ordained, 
to which previous baptism was indispensable. 

2. If he had the intention of doing what the church 
does. 

3. If he spoke the prescribed words, or others, of 
equivalent signification. 

4. If the directions respecting the bread, and the 
wine, and the water, have been carefully observed — 

There is a change of the substances of the visible 
elements into the substances^ of our Lord's body and 
blood (the substances of the bread and wine no 
longer remaining), and, by concomitance, the soul 
and divinity also become present on the altar to re- 
ceive the adoration which should be offered to God ; 
but, if any of the required conditions has been omit- 
ted — even if the water exceed the proportion it should 
bear (and which has not been specified) to the wine 

a greater quantity of water in the sacrifice than of wine, 
when, according" to the reasonable practice of the general 
church, there ought to be used a far greater quantity of 
wine than of water. — Catechism of Council of Trent y JDub- 
liUi p. 171. 

* Vel ei admixtum tantum aquae utvinum sit corruptum. 
— Missal. 

f Cone. Trid. Sess. 13. Canon 2. **Ifany say that in the 
holy sacrament of the eucharist the substance of the bread 
and wine remain with the body and blood of our Lord Je- 
sus Christ, and deny that admirable and singular conversion 
of the whole substance of the bread into body, and the 
whole substance of the wine into blood, the species of 
bread and wine alone remaining, which conversion the 
Catholic Church most aptly names tran substantiation, let 
him be anathema." Thus the name which is in the de- 
cree given to a change into the substance, is, in the canon, 
assigned to a change into the body itself, consisting of sub- 
stance and accidents. 



36 



GUIDE TO AN 



with which it is mingled — there is no consecration 
or change ; and the church which declares, that 
Christ himself is the great officiating High Priest,* 
declares also, that accident, or neglect, or fraud, may- 
prevent his being offered on the altar. 

It is not intended at present to enlarge this account 
of Romish doctrine, adding to it an enumeration of 
all the minute circumstances by which it could be 
more fully characterized, or examining arrangements 
respecting it for which the favour of antiquity is not 
asserted. Thus, communion in one kind is confess- 
edly not conformable to the practice of early times. t 
It need not, therefore, for our present purpose, be 
noticed in a preliminary exposition of doctrine, which 
is perhaps as ample as the occasion requires, when 
it recites the belief, that, where the directions of the 
Church are observed, the substance of the visible ele- 
ments departs, and that of Christ's body and blood, 
together with his soul and divinity, becomes present, 
— and that, where certain numerous and subtle condi- 
tions are not complied Vvdth, a sacrifice is not offered, 
nor is a sacrament received. 

The doctrine of the Church of England in some 
particulars agrees with that of the Roman Church : 
in some is strongly opposed to it. The catechism, 
the articles, and the communion service in "the Book 
of Common Prayer set forth clearly the faith of the 
Protestants of the Church of England on the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper. The catechism, having 
first defined the word sacrament, as signifying the 
outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual 
grace given to us, ordained by Christ himself as a 
means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to 
assure us thereof," proceeds to expound the doctrine 
of the eucharist. " It was instituted for the continual 



* Con. Trid. Sess. 22. c. 2. 



t Trid. Sess. 21. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



37 



remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, 
and of the benefits which we receive thereby." The 
outward part or sign is bread and wine which the 
Lord hath commanded to be received" — the inner 
part or thing signified, the body and blood of Christ, 
which are verily and indeed taken and received by 
the faithful in the Lord's Supper." With this the 
definition in the 28th article coincides, The Sup- 
per of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that 
Christians ought to have among themselves, one to 
another ; but rather is a sacrament of our Redemption 
by Christ's death, insomuch that to such as rightly, 
worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the bread 
which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ, 
and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the 
blood of Christ, &c. &c. " The body of Christ is 
given, taken, and eaten, in the supper only after an 
heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean 
whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten 
in the supper is faith." To the same effect a passage 
in the communion service, ''for then we spiritually 
eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood ; then we 
dwell in Christ, and Christ in us ; we are one v/ith 
Christ, and Christ is one with us." Again, in the 
prayer of consecration, Hear us, O merciful Father, 
we most humbly beseech thee, and grant that we re- 
ceiving these thy creatures of bread and wine, accord- 
ing to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's holy insti- 
tution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may 
be partakers of his most blessed body and blood." 
Hence, then, it is plain, that the Church of England 
regards the sacrament of the Lord's Supper as a me- 
morial of the death of Christ, a pledge of his love,* a 
mean, also, of grace and spiritual communion with 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 

* Exhortation in Com. Ser. 

D 



38 



GUIDE TO AxS* 



In all these particulars, it is probable, the Church 
of Rome would say, that Protestant error is only in 
deficiency. There are other matters in which oppo- 
sition between the churches is more decided. The 
Church of England directly protests against a great 
fundamental dogma of the Romish creed — " Tran- 
substantiation (or the change of the substance of 
bread and wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot 
be proved by Holy ¥/rit, but is repugnant to the 
plain words of Scripture, overturneth the nature of a 
sacrament, and hath given occasion to many super- 
stitions."* She denies also that the wicked ''eat 
the body of Christ." " The wicked and such as be 
void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and 
visibly press with their teeth (as Saint Augustine 
saith) the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, 
yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ, but ra- 
ther to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign 
or sacrament of so great a thing. "t Another tenet 
deserving of note in the English Church is, " that 
the unworthiness of the ministers hindereth not the 
effect of the sacraments," " forasmuch as they do 
not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and 
do minister by his commission and authority." " The 
grace of God's gifts" is not " diminished from such 
as by faith and rightly do receive the holy sacra- 
ments ministered unto them, which be effectual, be- 
cause of Christ's institution and promise, although 
they be ministered by evil men." The Church of 
Rome assents partially to the truth of this principle, 
by declaring that a priest in mortal sin could admi- 
nister the sacrament, J but in the doctrine of " Inten- 
tion" contravenes it. 

* Article 28. f Article 29. 

+ If any say that a minister being" in mortal sin, though 
otherwise observing every thing" essential to consecrate and 
administer the sacrament, does not consecrate or confer, let 
him be anathema. Cons. Trid .Sess. 7. Cap. 12. De Sacr. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



39 



To recapitulate briefly, the main points of agree- 
ment and difference between the Churches of Eng- 
land and of Rome respecting the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper; it may be said, that both believe in 
" the real presence," which one creed pronounces to 
be purely spiritual, the other declares to be corporal 
also. 2dly. Both believe that the sacrament is to be 
consecrated by priests in the name and by the au- 
thority of the Lord Christ ; but the Church of Rome 
affirms that the neglect or the malevolence of a mi- 
nister, may vitiate the form of consecration;* the 

* I am not unaware that individuals in the Roman Catho- 
lic Church deny, that she holds the doctrine of intention in 
a sense which renders the consecration of the sacrament a 
matter of doubt. The fact is, that the declaration in the 
Council of Trent may admit of divers interpretations. ** If 
a man say that the intention, &c. &c. is not necessary," &c. 
&c. some say, may imply no more than a necessity affecting" 
the minister, that he avoid the sin of irreverence, but not 
affecting the sacrament or the congregation. As to the 
passage in the acts of the Council of Florence, it is said, 
that it rests rather on the authority of the Pope than of the 
Council, having been inserted in an epistle and not formally 
decided in the assembly. But this, at least, is certain, that 
the highest authority to which access can be had, the au- 
thority, too, which, when its decision is not opposed, is 
considered paramount, favours the opinion of those who 
hold what is commonly received as the doctrine of inten- 
tion. The Council of Trent decided that intention was ne- 
cessary. It also declared its trust, that, should doubt, as 
to the meaning of any of its decrees, arise, the pope would 
call, if necessary, a provincial or a general council, or adopt 
such other means as he thought most effectual to remove 
doubt or restore order. Sess. 25. Add to this that the 
Pope's Missal, published by order of the council, contains, 
so far as Papal authority is to be regarded, unquestionable 
proof, that, without intention^ the sacrament is not admi- 
nistered. — "If any priest should have before him eleven 
hosts, and should intend to consecrate only ten, not deter- 
mining which ten he intends, he does not consecrate, be- 
cause intention is required. " — Rom. Miss. Be Defect, 



40 



GUIDE TO AN 



Church of England ascribes to her ministers no such 
poAver, believing, that " the sacraments be effectual 
because of Christ's institution and promise, although 
they be ministered by evil men. 3dly. Both churches 
hold that the wicked and faithless eat to their con- 
demnation ; but the Church of Rome, in the doctrine 
of transubstantiation, teaches that the body and blood, 
soul, and divinity, of Christ are taken into the body 
of the guilty communicant ; while the Church of 
England affirms, that the dishonour is done not to 
Christ, but to the symbols of his body and blood. 
In fine, both affirm* that Christ instituted the sacra- 
ment in two kinds ; the Church of England adheres 
to the rule thus divinely recommended ; the Church 
of Rome, on her own authority, has altered it. 



CHAPTER III. 



Testimony to Rellg'ious Truth — Scripture — Fathers- 
Jerome — Edinburgh Review. 

*'In a sermon which I once heard preached by a 
fellow of our university, there was an observation 
put strongly by the preacher which I now called to 
mind for my guidance in the inquiry I was about to 
institute. In like manner," said the preacher, " as 
streams are always clearest near their source, so the 
first ages of Christianity will be found to have been 
the purest.t " Taking this obvious position for 
granted, the deduction was, of course, evident, that 

* Although Christ in the last supper instituted the 
sacrament in species of bread and wine, and delivered it to 
the Apostles," &c. Cone. Trid. Sess. 21. C. 1. D. Com. 

f Travels, vol. i. p. 10. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



41 



to the doctrines and practice of the early ages of the 
Church, I must have recourse to find the true doc- 
trines and practice of Protestantism." Accordingly, 
our traveller applied himself to the study of the early 
fathers. " Of the scriptures," he says, my know- 
ledge had hitherto been scanty, but the plan I now 
proposed, was to make my study of the sacred volume 
concurrent with this inquiry into the writings of its 
first expounders, so that the text and the comment 
might, by such juxta position, shed light upon each 
other."* 

At a future day, the world, may, perhaps, be 
favoured with an account of the discoveries made in 
the Holy Scriptures by the light thus shed upon 
them. For the present, we must be contented with 
the result of the investigation (certainly not con- 
ducted by the light of scripture), through the pages 
of some early fathers. Indeed, it would not be rash 
to afiirm, that so far from having scripture for his 
guide in the labyrinth mto which he daringly and 
unadvisedly entered, the young traveller must have, 
not unfrequently, with a felicity, which (if we had 
not the example of sleep-walkers) we should con- 
sider to be of set design, evaded plain scriptural pro- 
visions against the errors into which he was bewil- 
dered. For example, how could one who had not 
contrived to omit, as he read the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, the narrative of St Stephen's martyrdom and 
burial, be for an instant embarrassed by conduct 
attributed to the followers of Ignatius, at variance as 
it was with the martyr's expressed wishes, and alien 
from apostolic example ? I'he truth appears to be, 
that, having commenced his " search of a religion," 
in ignorance of Scripture, he did not very accurately 
estimate the difiference in authority between the sacred 

^ Travels, vol. i. p. 11. 

d2 



42 



GUIDE TO AN 



volume and the testimonies of men ; and, apportion- 
ing his hours of study according to the measure which 
his eye had made, of those numerous and massy 
volumes on which the names of the fathers were 
inscribed, and that small book in which is contained 
divine truth without any mixture of error, he soon 
was brought to forget his original design, and to 
think, that, except where the word of God was intro- 
duced to his respect by its honoured expositors, he 
might spare himself the necessity of consulting it. 

This was an unhappy error. Had the sentiment 
quoted from the preacher been properly understood, 
it would have suggested a very different course of 
study. It would have recommended the inquirer to 
consult first the documents of highest authority, 
commencing with those which were the most ancient; 
and it would have warned him against bestowing an 
undue proportion of his time or thoughts on writings, 
which no Church or assembly of christian men has 
ever accounted of equal value with those inserted in 
the canon of scripture. 

This observation is not made in a spirit which 
depreciates all reference to the monuments of the 
ages immediately subsequent to that of our Lord and 
his apostles, nor with the purpose of denying to the 
testimonies borne by early Christians, due honour 
and authority. As witnesses of the doctrine and dis- 
cipline of their own days they should not be neglect- 
ed ; but neither should there be assigned to them that 
high place in deciding controversy to which the 
y oung traveller would advance them . Independently 
of the reasons for which plain good sense would deny 
them such authority, the ecclesiastical writers of pri- 
mitive times furnish, themselves, a warning against 
placing implicit credit in them. The Irish gentleman 
should have been instructed by it. 

When all the leaders of the Greeks had concurred 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



43 



in the recommendation of one individual as worthy 
to be second in command, no further evidence was 
required, that the general voice was in favour of his 
being first. This is a very imperfect illustration of 
the authority with which, it might be said, in every 
age, all concurrent christian testimony would compel 
a reverent submission to the scripture. Not only 
is the book of God's word acknowledged to be of 
highest worth, but it is set so eminently beyond all 
human productions, as to have no second. It is sin- 
gular that the praises of scripture, and the directions 
to be guided by it with which the fathers abound, 
did not remind the traveller that he was misemploy- 
ing his faculties while devoting them to the study of 
writings at best the production of human wisdom, 
and, in almost all instances, bearing the character of 
human weakness. 

Nor is it alone by their praises of Scripture, the 
writers of early christian ages instruct their readers. 
Occasionally they contain testimonies by which, more 
directly, their own merits may be estimated. I turn 
from a chapter in " the Travels," in which doctrines 
are recommended by the authority of TertuUian, and 
Cyprian, and Lactantius, and Jerome, and other 
names, and I look to one, perhaps the most honoured 
of these eminent men, for his judgment on his fel- 
lows. He had been presented by a young author 
with a discourse which appears to have been favoured 
by his approval, and, in replying to the letter of pre- 
sentation, in which the advice of the distinguished 
recluse as to a rule of life was requested, Jerome 
replied, urging strenuously on the young writer, the 
importance of studying Scripture. " With scrip- 
tural knowledge as the foundation, nothing could be 
more perfect than his works." " Tertullian," he 
writes, abounds in thought, but is unhappy in ex- 
pression. Blessed Cyprian flows along like a clear 



44 



GUIDE TO AN 



smooth stream, but, occupied in the advancement of 
the virtues, or because of the emergencies of persecu- 
tion, has not discoursed of the scriptures. Victorinus 
crowned w^ith martyrdom cannot fully express what 
he knows. Lactantius, a flood of Ciceronean elo- 
quence. Oh, that he had power to confirm what is 
ours, as he has overthrown what is opposed to us. 
Arnobius, subject to inequality and excess, is eon- 
fused, not observing due distinction in his work. 
Saintly Hilary, high raised in the Gallic buskin, and, 
adorned with Grecian flowers, is involved in his 
periods and unsuited to the comprehension of the 
more simple. I am silent of others dead and living, 
of whom posterity shall judge/'* Such is the opinion 
of Jerome, regarding the most eminent writers of his 
own and of preceding ages : surely it is not wise to 
ascribe to the copies of books at this day bearing 
their names, and liable to the imputations which 
exposure to the accidents and frauds of sixteen cen- 
turies should draw down upon them, a higher autho- 
rity than could be justified by the character given by 
one thoroughly competent to pronounce a sound 
judgment, and having before him works of whose 
genuineness and authority there could be no suspi- 
cion. t 

* Epist. ad PauMnum. 

f The mutilations and changes made in the works of the 
Fathers, by Congreg-ations of the Index," furnish addi- 
tional reason for distrust of their authority. The circum- 
stances brought to light by Archbishop Wake, respecting 
the suppressed epistle of Chrysostome to Caesarius are full 
of instruction on this subject. It was quoted by Peter 
Martyr, in the controversies of the sixteenth centtny. Gar- 
diner and others, unable to resist the argument it contained 
against transubstantiation, endeavoured to shift its author- 
ship to another, John Bishop of Constantinople, who lived 
hi the sixth century. This only made matters worse, by 
showing that up to so late a period, the doctrine had not 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



45 



It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that 
the compositions of uninspired men were far more 
likely to be adulterated than the Holy Scriptures. 
Works held in no higher esteem than those which 
Jerome characterized were liable to the hazards of 
accident, or carelessness, or fraud; but it was the 
common interest of all who believed in the Bible that 
it should not be corrupted. It was the standard of 
faith and morals ; contending sects appealed to it, and 
guarded the purity of its text, and, as copies rapidly 
multiplied and were widely dispersed, it soon became 
vain to attempt any such corruption of the Scriptures 
as should be effectual for purposes of deceit. But 
this is not the place to enumerate the assurances w^e 
have that the scriptural text has been carefully pre- 
served. It needs little inquiry to be satisfied, that no 
books were ever guarded with so jealous care, or, 

been received, and Cardinal de Perron boldly attempted to 
cut the knot by pronouncing" Martyr's quotation a forgery. 
For a length of time the cardinal's expedient was success- 
ful ; but, in the end^ a Iloman Catholic, Bigotius, having 
found the manuscript in the Florentine library, and ascer- 
tained its genuineness and authenticity, gave it, or rather 
attempted to give it, to the public, accompanied by an ob- 
servation on the obnoxious passage which had not the effect 
of neutralizing its argument, or of propitiating the doctors 
of tlie Sorbonne. They actually cut out of the printed copy 
of the work the epistle and the comments on it^ Bigotius, 
however, had preserved some copies from their pious spo- 
liation, and Archbishop Wake became the possessor of the 
subtracted leaves, and appeals to the edition of Palladius, 
published by Bigotius, in the year 1680, to prove the truth 
of his allegations. 

It would appear more extraordinary than it does, to find 
a writer, not a professed Protestant, establishing the autho- 
rity of an epistle decisive against transubstantiation, if there 
were not abundant proof, that many, in apparent commu- 
nion with the Church of Rome, are very uneasy in their 
fetters. 



46 



GUIDE TO AN 



even if we consider no more than the natural inthice- 
ments by which man is influenced, had such ample 
provision made for their preservation. 

The Irish traveller has taken notice of an addi- 
tional reason why the authority of the Fathers should 
not be very highly respected. It is what he calls 
the " Discipline of the Secret," by which, it appears, 
that, in writing on certain subjects, a studied obscu- 
rity was recommended. The observance of this dis- 
cipline was not very unlike, if it were not identical 
with, that economical doctrine, according to which 
it was permitted to alloy pure truth, and it served to 
prepare for that toleration of "pious frauds" which 
seemed aptly to fulfil the apostle's prediction of 
** speaking lies in hypocrisy," a practice ruinous in 
its results, and which, even now, disparages the tes- 
timony of those who had not with sufficient decisive- 
ness condemned it.* 

* The author of the Travels could hare derived valuable 
information as to the merits of the Fathers, from the Edin- 
burgh Review, a periodical with which he appears, by his 
citations, to be familiarly acquainted. The number for 
November, 1814, contains an article on Mr Boyd's "Trans- 
lation of Select Passages" which will well repay perusal, 
and in which the severest and most vehement animadver- 
sions on "the Christian Heathenism and Heathen Chris- 
tianity" of ** those primitive doctors of the Church," are re- 
commended by all the grace, and spirit, and fancy, for which 
the reputed author is distinguished. ** Their bigoted re- 
jection," he writes, **of the most obvious truths in natural 
science, the bewildering vibration of their moral doctrines, 
never resting between the extremes of laxity and rigour, 
their credulity, their inconsistencies of conduct and opinion, 
and, worst of all, their forgeries and falsehoods, have already 
been so often and so ably exposed by divines of all coun- 
tries, religions, and sects, the Dupins, Mosheims, Middle- 
tons, Clarkes, Jortins, &c, that it seems superfluous to add 
another line upon the subject, though we are not quite 
sure, that, in the present state of Europe, a discussion of 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



47 



To sum up briefly, the grounds upon which it 
should be accounted unwise, is one not previously- 
well prepared, to engage in the exclusive study of 
the Fathers with such a design as the Irish gentle- 
man proposed; it may be said, that the authority of 
their writings could never, under any circumstances, 
have been equal to that of scripture ; that it must be 
qualified by the doubts, which accumulate as time 
advances, with respect to the correctness and authen- 
ticity of existing copies of their works ; that they 

the merits of the Fathers is not as seasonable and even as 
fashionable a topic as we could select. At a time when the 
inquisition is re-established by our beloved Ferdinand, when 
the pope again brandishes the keys of Peter with an air 
worthy of a successor of the Hildebrands and Perettis,*' &c. 
If the author of these reflections be a living- man, and would 
pronounce judgment on the citations from early Fathers in 
the Travels of an Irish Genileman, he would not perhaps 
find his censures so fashionable as they were in 1814, but 
he may rely upon their being as strongly called for. 

Again the Reviewer writes : There were two maxims 
adopted and enforced by many of the Fathers, which de- 
serve to be branded with particular repi*obation, not only 
because they acted upon them continually themselves, to 
tlie disgrace of the holy cause in which they were engaged, 
but because they have transmitted their contamination to 
posterity, and left the features of Christianity to this day, 
disfigured by their taint. The first of these maxims, we 
give it in the words of Mosheim, was, that it is an act of 
virtue to deceive and lie, when, by such means, the inte- 
rests of the Church may be promoted. To this profligate 
principle the world owes not only the fables and forgeries 
of these primitive times, but many of those evasions, those 
compromises between conscience and expediency which 
are still thought necessaiy and justificvble for the support of 
religious establishments. So industrious were the church- 
men of the early ages in the inculcation of this monstrous 
doctrine, that we find the Bishop Heliodorus insinuating it, 
as a general principle of conduct, through the seductive 
medium of his Romance Theagines and Chariclea." — Edin^ 
hurgh Review^ November, 1814. 



48 



GUIDE TO AN 



studied obscurity, and practised what they called 
pious frauds ; and that, generally speaking, neither 
their moral or intellectual qualifications were of such 
an order as entitled them to exclusive consideration. 
" If we could flatter ourselves that Mr Boyd would 
listen to us, we would advise him to betake himself 
as speedily as possible from such writers as his 
Gregories, Cyrils, &c. which can never serve any 
other purpose than that of a vain parade of cumbrous 
erudition, to studies of a purer and more profitable 
nature, more orthodox in taste as well as in theology. 
He will find in a few pages of Barrow or Taylor^ 
more rational piety and more true eloquence than in 
all the Fathers of the Church together." Although 
the Roman Catholic reader may not agree in the 
praise of Barrow or Taylor, and many of every 
Church will insist, that the works of the Fathers are 
underrated, yet it would have been desirable that the 
Irish traveller, who appears acquainted with the phi- 
losophy of the Edinburgh He view, had read or re- 
membered the above passage and the article in which 
it is contained. It might have protected him from 
perils still more enormous than that which the gifted 
reviewer bravely and happily encountered, in " pois- 
ing down his huge folio saints from their shelves." 



CHAPTER IV. 



Testimony — Councils — Creeds — Liturgies — Fathers — 
Ignatius — Justin Martyr. 

When Protestants refer to the judgment of the early 
ages of the Church as important in the determination 
of controversy, they by no means propose to have 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



4^ 



questions decided by the testimony of individuals. 
Had our traveller inquired of the academic preacher 
the meaning of his words he would have been thus 
instructed. Had he consulted the venerable guide 

of his early childhood, the Rev. Father O , he 

would have received a similar answer, and have 
found, that the Fathers whose works he so earnestly 
studied, and by whose testimonies he appears so se- 
riously impressed, were to be ranked as authorities 
not only, in subordination to the Scriptures, but that 
there were beside, certainly two, probably three, 
species of evidence to which more credit was to be 
attached, — namely, councils, creeds, and (perhaps 
there may be added) Liturgies in use among the 
early Christians. Hereafter we shall inquire what 
these more creditable witnesses testify. They are 
now noticed for the purpose of reminding the reader, 
that the sources, from which the Irish Gentleman 
wished to procure a knowledge of religion, were the 
least reputable of all to which he could have had ac- 
cess. The task is not the most agreeable, but it may 
not, perhaps, be unattended by good, to examine the 
principal witnesses consulted for his instruction, and 
ascertain, if practicable, the precise meaning of their 
allegations. 

We regard as most important the testimony offered 
on the subject of the eucharist, because of the ad- 
ventitious value attached to it. If transubstantiation 
be not acknowledged, the doctrine of a Trinity can- 
not be maintained, the same writers having, under 
similar difficulties, and with the same caution and 
delicacy, expounded and defended both. By such a 
terror the young traveller appears to have been con- 
tinually haunted. Either he must renounce Chris- 
tianity or he must embrace transubstantiation. There 
is comfort in thinking that a frightful vision like this, 
in which the living and the dead are chained together, 
E 



50 



GUIDE TO AN 



and the Holy One sees corruption, appears only in 
the absence of Scripture. Let us inquire whether, 
after a little reflection, the phantom will remain, even 
among the ruins and obscurity where it is said to 
have its dwelling. 

The young traveller seems positive, that the first, 
the apostolical fathers, in very distinct terms, favoured 
the doctrine of transubstantiation ; that, in process of 
time, the language of their successors became more 
obscure, as they felt it more necessary to guard their 
awful rites from profanation ; and that, subsequently, 
secrecy was discontinued, and the doctrine of the 
eucharist, as declared in the Church of Rome, openly 
and fully avowed. It is of moment, therefore, to 
examine with some degree of care the passages in 
which, it is intimated, the most unreserved writers 
of the early ages testify their belief in transubstan- 
tiation. 

We commence with Ignatius, who, in a sentence 
already quoted, accuses certain heretics of absenting 
themselves from the eucharist because they would 
not acknowledge it to " be the flesh of Christ, ttiat 
flesh which suffered for our sins."* We have seen 
a partial representation of the argument founded on 
these words. It is necessary that the passage and 
the reasoning to which it has given occasion be more 
fully examined. 

There were certain heretics, as The Travels" 
remind us, who were of opinion that our Lord Christ 
had not a real body, and had not, of course, been sub- 
jected to a real death. Against their errors Ignatius 

* There are two copies of the Epistle of Ig-natius to the 
Romans, in one of which the above passage is not contained. 
Both are edited by Cotelerius. The weight of testimony 
both Protestant and Roman Catholic, seems in favour of 
retaining the passage, although its genuineness is much 
doubted* 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



51 



strongly warned the orthodox Christians, and with 
peculiar force and vehemence in the epistle to the 
Smyrnaeans, in which their abstinence from the eu- 
charist is censured. I need not remind the reader, 
that such abstinence could have no weight in decid- 
ing whether the sacrament were, in figure or in sub- 
stance, the very body of Christ. The Docetae were 
as likely to refrain from commemorating as from 
acknowledging the death and passion of the Lord ; 
and, accordingly, it must be accounted rash to affirm, 
that if the eucharist were no more than a figurative 
representation of what the Church of Rome pro- 
nounces it actually to be, the heretics would not 
abstain from it. The argument, therefore, the only 
one of consequence, must be of a different kind. 
The declaration of Ignatius respecting the Docetae, 
contains, by inference, a profession of his own be- 
lief. They abstained from the eucharist and prayer, 
because they confessed not the eucharist to be the 
flesh of Christ. Inasmuch as he did not abstain, 
he is to be regarded as one who made the suitable 
confession. 

The amount of the argument, from the expressions 
of the martyr, is, that he and the orthodox of his 
days confessed the eucharist to be the flesh of Christ 
which suffered for their sins. A flippant controver- 
sialist would perhaps demand what more is necessary 
to establish full conformity between Ignatius and the 
Council of Trent — the eucharist of his days and 
modern transubstantiation ? A moment's reflection 
would warn him not to be so precipitate. Under- 
stood in the sense in which he receives it, the con- 
fession of the martyr is very different indeed from 
the decrees and declarations of more recent times. 
He confesses the eucharist to be the flesh of Christ 
which suffered for our sins. What was this flesh ? 
According to ordinary belief man consists of two 



52 



GUIDE TO AN 



parts, body and spirit, the one solid, visible and 
palpable to touch, the other invisible, and not hav- 
ing solidity. A similar distinction is made, in the 
doctrine of the Church of Rome, as to the compo- 
nent parts of body or flesh. It is supposed to con- 
sist of two parts, the one apprehended by sight and 
touch, the other of a nature which our senses cannot 
discern ; the one being the discovery, if not the crea- 
ture of recondite and subtle philosophy, the other 
that of which all men have satisfactory evidence, and 
to which they have assigned the name. 

The reader may, by experiment, speedily ascer- 
tain what it is to which he assigns the name of flesh 
or body. I mean by experiment on his own mind. 
When such a term is employed, what image or idea 
does it suggest ? Is flesh something that cannot be 
seen or touched, something which cannot occupy 
space. This is not the notion which plain men have 
adopted, nor is it encouraged by either the Church 
of Rome or the Scripture. When our blessed Lord 
would convince his agitated disciples, that he had 
flesh and blood, what is his proof, Behold my 
hands and my feet, that it is I, myself, handle me 
and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye 
see me have."* They must have understood by the 
words flesh and bones something which could be 
seen and touched ; else they would not have admit- 
ted the criterion of sense in distinguishing between 
body and spirit. The principle suggested here is 
more plainly asserted in an Abridgement of Chris- 
tian Doctrine, designed for the instruction of Roman 
Catholic children. " If God be every where, why 
do we riot see him? Because he is a pure spirit. "t 
Thus, in the words of our Lord, we learn that to 

* St. Luke xxiv. 39. 

f Abridg-ement of Clirist. Doct. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



53 



have flesh is to have something which can be touch- 
ed and seen ; and, from the passage in the Roman 
Catholic Catechism, it would not be unreasonable to 
infer, that to exist and not to be the object of sense 
— is to have a purely spiritual being. 

If Ignatius, then, confessing that the eucharistwas 
the flesh of Christ, wrote, as champions of the 
Church of Rome insist, in the plain literal import of 
the words, he wrote of a flesh which could be seen 
and touched, he wrote of all which the word flesh 
comprehends, not alone of that spiritualized nature 
to which the name " substance" has been philoso- 
phically given, but also of those palpable qualities 
which are solid and visible, and from which, the 
common sense of mankind cannot well understand 
why the philosophical name should be withheld. 
" The pastors of the church should teach that the 
body of the Lord is not in the sacrament as in a 
place, for place belongs to those things that have 
magnitude."* The sacramental body has no mag- 
nitude, does not occupy place. Surely, then, it can- 
not be properly signified by a word which, literally, 
denotes an object to which place and magnitude are 
essential. Could such flesh, in the words of Igna- 
tius, have suffered for our sins ? The flesh which 
was upon the cross had magnitude, occupied place, 
was sensible, visible : if the same term may be ap- 
plied to something separated from all those outward 
marks to which the name was originally given (at 
least because of whicht it was given), and the lan- 
guage be still accounted literal and correct, why may 
not the name with equal justice be applied to spi- 

* Cat. Con. Trid. Dublin Edition, p. 186. 

f The fact of there being" but one name for the sub- 
stance*' of every kind of body, seems to show the principle 
on which names have been given. 
E 2 



54 



GUIDE TO AN 



rit.'' Properly speaking body," at least flesh," 
signifies something having qualities in which it is 
cognizable to our senses. It is argued, that it may 
be employed with equal propriety to designate what, 
if not a pure abstraction of the judgment, has cer- 
tainly nothing for the sense to discover ; what, in 
truth, is much more closely connected with spirit than 
with body, participating in the negative attributes of 
the former, and having neither the positive or negative 
affections of the latter ; if, therefore, the literal con- 
struction of language allowed the same word to sig- 
nify visible and invisible, solid and unsolid, passive 
and impassive, extended and unextended being, sure- 
ly it is little to add, that it may also signify both 
body and spirit, and thus may enable us to recog- 
nize, in the expression of Ignatius, in the decrees of 
Trent, and the articles of the Church of England, the 
same doctrine— of a real, spiritual presence. 

The reader, however, should not forget, that the 
great point at issue between the Church of Rome 
and the Reformers, so far as the doctrine of transub- 
stantiation is concerned, is, whether certain words 
are to be understood in a literal or in a figurative and 
spiritual acceptation ; nor should he think it imperti- 
nent to the occasion, to institute a brief inquiry into 
the sense in which the confession of Ignatius is to 
be received. When he, by inference, acknowledged 
that the eucharist was the flesh which suffered for 
our sins, did he speak literally, or did he use the 
words in the same sense in which, of the victim, it 
was said, this is the Lord's Passover, to imply that 
it represented or figured what it was said to be. 

The passage in which the words under examina- 
tion are found, must be quoted more at length than 
they are recited in " the Travels." " Let no man 
be deceived. Both heavenly things, and the glory 
of angels and princes visible and invisible, if they 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



55 



believe not in the blood of Christ it shall be judgment 
to them. He that is able to receive, let him receive. 
Let place make no man proud, for faith and love are 
all, before which nothing is preferred. But consider 
those who are heterodox as to the grace of Jesus 
Christ which has come to us, how they oppose the 
will" (or purpose) " of God. Of love they have no 
care, neither of the widow nor the orphan, nor of 
the afflicted, of bond or free, nor of the hungry or 
the thirsty. They abstain from eucharist and prayer 
because they acknowledge not the eucharist to be the 
flesh of our Saviour Christ which suffered for our 
sins." Here it is contended, that faith and charity 
are the great principles which it is essential to culti- 
vate and exercise. The faith must be, not like the 
opinion of the heretics, belief in a Saviour whose 
humanity was a phantom. It must be faith in the 
blood of Christ, who, as it is declared at the com- 
mencement of the epistle " was truly crucified by 
Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, being nailed 
for us in the flesh to the cross," " not as some unbe- 
lievers say that he only seemed to suffer. For after 
his resurrection I know and believe that he was in 
the flesh."* " And when he came to those who were 
with Peter, he said unto them. Take, handle me, and 
see that I am not an incorporeal demon. And 
straightway they felt him and believed, " But after 
the resurrection, he did eat and drink with them as 
he was in the flesh, although, as to his spirit, he was 
united to his father." The flesh in which Christ 
appeared after death, endured the test of sight and 
touch. The apostles believed when they had seen 
and felt that the Lord had a body. Any such flesh 
as transubstantiation presupposes, would not have 



56 



GUIDE TO AN 



convinced the disciples — any definition which im- 
plied that the flesh of the Lord was of such a nature, 
Ignatius would have accounted an invention of the 
heretics against whose errors he was expostulating. 
Thus far, therefore, it is evident that the word flesh, 
in the sense in which the martyr employed it, is to 
be received in the plain signification in which it is 
ordinarily used. Did he confess that this flesh was 
in the eucharist ? A little patience will enable the 
reader fully to understand. 

In the epistle to the Smyrnseans, from which the 
confession is quoted, there is a brief outline of what 
is most important in the history of our Lord. His 
birth — his baptism — his death and passion — his re- 
surrection, and the proofs aflbrded to the disciples 
that he had a real body, are clearly and expressly re- 
lated ; but, unless the passage which the Traveller has 
alleged be regarded as such, there is not added to 
the recital of what our Saviour did, that he gave him- 
self in the eucharist. Yet this, if the faith of Igna- 
tius confessed it, he should not have omitted. He 
writes, that Christ ate and drank with his disciples ; 
he would scarcely have omitted, had he so believed, 
that he was their food no less than their companion. 
There was, however, another occasion on which an 
omission, such as this, was still more remarkable. 
In his epistle to the Philadelphians, Ignatius in- 
stitutes a comparison for the purpose of setting forth 
the superiority of the Gospel over the law, and con- 
cludes thus — " The Gospel has something which 
surpasses — the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, his 
passion, and resurrection."* Was it likely, if he 
believed the eucharist to be that which the Church 
of Rome holds it, that he would have omitted so 
stupendous a marvel in his enumeration of those 



* Ignat. Epist. ad Phtla. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



57 



graces which distinguished the Gospel ? According 
to the Council of Trent, our blessed Lord appeared, 
suffered, arose from the dead, and offered himself 
as food to his Disciples, in the body ; and the martyr 
Ignatius, when recounting the great things by which 
the Gospel excels preceding dispensations, names 
three of these appearances, and is silent as to the 
most wonderful of all. No unprejudiced reasoner 
will deny that the silence is remarkable. 

It should be observed, that, throughout the epis- 
tles of Ignatius, there is no passage which could 
afford the slightest grounds for attributing to him a 
direct recognition of that doctrine Avhich, in the pas- 
sage quoted by the traveller, he is supposed incident- 
ally and indirectly, to have noticed. He uses upon 
one or two occasions, such words as the " bread of 
God," " the flesh of Christ," but never under cir- 
cumstances which could countenance the supposition 
that the terms are literal, or at all favour the notion, 
that his judgment was in accordance with the Church 
of Rome ; and, upon one occasion, he uses figurative 
language of this kind in such a manner as not only to 
discredit all such inferences as our traveller has 
drawn, but to confirm the rational interpretation of 
Protestants by the decisive authority of the writer's 
own example. 

In an epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians,* in which 
he very earnestly recommends unity in discipline 
and doctrine, conjuring the people to preserve the 
close and affectionate connexion which should sub- 
sist between them and their bishops, priests, and 
deacons, he strenuously exhorts them, " putting on 
meekness," to renew themselves in faith, which is 
the body of Christ, and in charity, which is his bloody 
The eloquence with which the martyr constantly 



* Ig. Ep. ad Tral. Cot. 



58 



GITIDE TO AN 



magnifies the importance of these virtues, and the 
variety of aspects in which he exhibits them, cannot 
fail to interest all Christian readers. His doctrine is 
thus simply declared in the epistle to the Ephe- 
sians : " For the beginning is faith — the end charity. 
These two, joined together, are of God, and all 
other things which concern a holy life are their conse- 
quences."* Let the reader bear in mind the mean- 
ing and spirit of this sentence, and he will scarcely 
deny, that, not only is it impossible to ascribe a 
literal interpretation to the expression in which men- 
tion of the eucharist is made, but that, by a figurative 
only, can the sense of the entire passage be under- 
stood. Ignatius is warning the Smyrnaeans to be stead- 
fast in faith and charity, and to be guarded against 
the devices of heretics, who disregard both, showing 
themselves indifferent to the wants of the brethren, 
and abstaining from the assemblies where the sacra- 
ment of faith and love is administered. They will 
not confess that Christ had a body, or that his blood 
was shed, and, accordingly, they do not attend where 
his body and blood are commemorated, or discharge 
the duties of love which are prescribed by his espe- 
cial command. They have not " faith, which is the 
body of Christ, or charity, which is his blood, 

I do not know that, before the present day, an 
attempt was ever made, to prove, that the expression 
we have been considering should be literally inter- 
preted. The honour of such an attempt was left for 
our young traveller, and his effort seems character- 
ized by the confidence and indiscretion which were 
to be expected in so young a controversialist. The 
abstinence of the Docetae from the eucharist, and 
more especially the reason alleged for it, should be 
regarded as proof that, in their day, a corporeal 



* Ignat. ad Eph. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



50 



presence was the orthodox doctrine ! Otherwise they 
need not have abstained, forasmuch as a eucharist 
like that of protestants would in no degree have 
offended their anti-corporeal notions." Had our tra- 
veller reflected, he would, perhaps, have formed an 
opinion directly the reverse, and maintained, that 
no artifice could contrive a doctrine better calcu- 
lated to accord with such opinions than that of the 
modern Church of Rome ? Could the acceptance 
of the Trent dogma be urged against the Docetee as 
an inconsistency ? Nay, rather, would they not have 
earnestly appealed to it as proof that their notions 
were not extravagant or peculiar ? If, in the eucha- 
rist, the church recognised something which had 
neither form or extension, solidity, weight, or colour, 
something which no sense could discern, and which 
was, notwithstanding, to be called the flesh, which 
suffered for our sins," and to be so called by words 
taken in their literal signification, might not the Do- 
cetae justly retort upon their orthodox opponents, 
allege that all Scripture should be submitted to a 
similar process of refinement, and that the phantom 
body with which they would pronounce the Lord 
invested, being of a similar nature with that which 
was acknowledged in the eucharist, should not be 
denied to be th^t in which he walked while he was 
visible on eartfi. As the figure of a body, visible 
and palpable to touch, the eucharist rebuked and 
contradicted them ; had it been accounted the reality 
of an unsolid, inseparable, invisible, impassive thing 
denominated body, it had been that which would 
most aptly coincide with their fantastic heresy, and 
perhaps supply them with the most cogent arguments 
against the orthodox. 

An expression in the apology of Justin Martyr 
seems to have occasioned the traveller still more dis- 
turbance than the v/ords of Ignatius, and, if that were 



60 



GUIDE TO AN 



possible, with less reason. " I had but a short way, 
however, descended the stream, when I found my 
sails taken aback by the following passage in Saint 
Justin the martyr." Nor do we take these gifts (in 
the eucharist) as common bread and common drink ; 
but as Jesus Christ our Saviour, made man by the 
word of God, took flesh and blood for our salvation, 
so in the same manner we have been taught that the 
food which has been blessed by prayer, and by which 
our blood and flesh in the change are nourished, is 
the flesh and blood of that Jesus incarnate. The 
assertion of a real corporeal presence by St. Ignatius, 
had more than sufliciently startled me ; but here was 
a still stranger case, a belief in the change of the ele- 
ments, in actual transubstantiation; and this on the 
part of a Saint so illustrious as St. Justin. Verily, 
they who could send a Christian youth to learn 
Protestant doctrine of teachers like these, must plead 
guilty to the charge either of grossly deceiving him 
or being ignorant themselves." 

In this concluding sentiment, I believe all Protest- 
ant readers will sincerely concur, and, as our points 
of agreement are not very numerous, I have thought 
it not unsuitable to recite a sentiment of the young 
traveller, in which I too can most cordially agree. 
Protestants hold, that, in the writings of men, whose 
thoughts appear frequently in the process of change 
from paganism to the truth, (who can speak of devils 
corrupting men by the doctrine of sacrifice, and of 
God accepting oblations, which else would be given 
over to demons*, who can derive the name of Chris- 
tian, from the divine oil with which the athlete of 
God is anointedt, who can discuss as matters of im- 
portance, and decide most erroneously, the thousand 
frivolous and superstitious questions with which their 



* Justin Martyr. 



t Theoph. ad Ant. .1 1. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 6l 

works abound,) although essential truth may be tes- 
tified, yet the best instruction is not, in the safest 
form afforded. Accordingly, they direct to a testi- 
mony in which there is no error. How desirable 
that their conduct in this respect should be imitated. 
Perhaps, if the young traveller, or other inqui- 
rers of influence, could satisfy the divines who have 
most authority in their communion, that the Fathers, 
amidst all their errors, have none which countenance 
the great peculiarities of the Church of Rome, we 
should find these writers soon ranked in their proper 
place, and receiving that qualified respect which all 
Christian scholars are willing to pay them. 

Let it be understood, then, that Protestant teachers 
do not send the youth of their persuasion to receive 
instruction from the Fathers," — the Bible alone is 
the religion of Protestants ; but, they feel it a mercy 
for which they are bounden to give thanks, that, in 
those writings to which Rome appeals for proofs that 
her doctrines were held in the early ages of the 
Church, no confirmation of her peculiar tenets can 
be discovered ; and, while they set little value upon 
any testimony of faith which the word of God does 
not afibrd, they can yet weigh the evidences which 
adversaries adduce from other sources, and prove 
them to be inconclusive. 

Justin Martyr, according to the interpretation set 
upon his words by the Irish Gentleman," bore 
witness to the doctrine of transubstantiation, inas- 
much as he spoke of the bread and wine undergoing 
a change. Did the young inquirer notice what was 
the effect of the change? Of which, by change, 
our flesh and blood are nourished."* A change 

* That the above is the correct translation, will not for a 
moment be disputed. In the original the passage is as fol- 
lows : YiO- dLlfJt.dL Kt (rcig]U(T KOLTA /UiTCtCoKny TgS<^OVTA/ 

F 



62 



GUIDE TO AN 



evidently into the substance of the communicant's 
body, agreeable to the doctrine of the Church of 
England, and most repugnant to transubstantiation. 

But the bread and wine was taught not to signify, 
but to be the flesh and blood of Christ. No doubt, 
such is the force of the words, if they are to be 
literally understood. Why should they not? Be- 
cause their author has taught us to interpret them 
as a figure. This will soon appear. In describing 
the religious worship on the Lord's day, the apolo- 
gist writes, that the services concluded with what we 
should call the communion, in which the bread and 
wine having been blessed, the element, which is 
called eucharist, is distributed to the Christians pre- 
sent, and sent to the absent. " None," he says, 

are admitted tg partake of it but those who have 
been baptized, who believe in Christ, and live after 
his commandments, for the gifts are not common 
bread and common drink," &c. They are still bread 
and wine, though not common, or for ordinary use. 
They are changed into the body and blood of the 
communicants, and they are also the body and blood 
of Christ. It cannot be disputed that, if the pass- 
age be literally understood, the same aliment " by 
change," nourishes the human body, and is declared 
also to be the body of the Lord. It is not said, that 
the eucharist contains, or conveys that blessed body. 
It was the food which, by change, nourished the 
communicants, which was taught to be the body of 
Christ. But, as the catechism of the Council of 
Trent instructs us, ''Christ is neither begotten anew 
nor changed ^^^^ and again, more pertinently to the 
present occasion, "This sacrament is not changed 
into us as the bread and wine is."t Thus, as the 
Church of Rome affirms, what is changed into the 



* Cat. Trent, p. 185. 



t Ibid. 188. 



I 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



63 



human substance is not the body of the Lord ; — ^but 
that which Justin calls the sacred body, is a sub- 
stance by which he informs us, our flesh and blood 
are nourished. If his words were to be taken liter- 
ally, they would not only outrage common sense 
and religious feeling, but also, directly contradict the 
doctrine which the Irish Gentleman would deduce 
from them. 

It would be wise in Roman Catholic controver- 
sialists, to reflect on the consequences which must 
follow from insisting, so pertinaciously as they fre- 
quently do, on rejecting all interpretations which are 
not exactly literal ; at least, until they had inquired 
w^hether the sense in which they themselves receive 
a passage, has not as much of figure as that which 
they condemn. Understood in what, but for con- 
troversial disputation, would be regarded as its 
obvious meaning, the words of Justin Martyr are 
agreeable to reason and to their context ; taken in 
the letter, they not only oflend the moral sense and 
the judgment, but cannot, in the infinite diversity of 
religious sects, find any by whom they would be 
patronized. All would except the body of Christ 
from the substances which were to undergo change, 
and minister corporeal nutrition; and therefore the 
figurative interpretation (under it may be a variety 
of forms) would obtain all suflfrages. 

But, perhaps it will be said, that, although the 
literal sense cannot reasonably be maintained, the 
figurative demands some more decisive authority 
than^has been yet adduced in its favour. It may be 
acknowledged, that to regard the eucharist as a type 
of the body which was given for our sins, and the 
blood which was shed for us, is consonant to reason 
and consistent with the martyr's discourse ; — while 
yet, where a doctrine of great moment is said to be 
taught in the passage, we should be very scrupulous 



64 



GUIDE TO AN 



in endeavouring to ascertain its precise meaning. H 
Have we authority for believing, that a figurative in- 
terpretation is most appropriate in the instance now 
before us ? Immediately after the passage which the 
Irish Gentleman has quoted, the martyr proceeds to 
recite how the Christian doctrine of the eucharist had H 
been taught: — "For in the commentaries, which 
are called Gospels, the Apostles have delivered that 
Jesus thus commanded them, that having taken bread, 
and given thanks, he said, do this for a remembrance 
of me ; and in like manner, having taken the cup, 
and given thanks, he said, this is my blood." Hence 
the doctrine and discipline of the eucharist; — and, 
hence, the Scripture which Justin recited in order to 
recommend them, must be the measure of the ex- 
planation he would authenticate by its testimony. 
According to the Church of Rome, our Lord, on the 
occasion when the blessed sacrament was instituted, 
performed a miracle, greater and more remote from 
apprehension than the creation of the universe ; and 
he enjoined on his disciples an observance which they 
could, without miraculous aid, continue. He direct- 
ed them to do what they saw him do, which was not 
a miracle; and he intimated to them, that he had 
wrought a stupendous miracle, which they had not 
seen him perform. This he did not, so far as the 
Scripture testifies, empower them to repeat; that is 
to say, he did not, in express words, give power, 
to make the bread his body, while he distinctly en- 
joined the observance by which his death was to 
be commemorated. The powers which our Lord 
bestowed on his disciples when he sent them to pre- 
pare his way, or to preach his Gospel, he clearly and 
fully enumerated. At the institution of the sacra- 
ment, he conferred the power and imposed the duty 
of continuing the remembrance of him, but the 
power to work the miracle, which he is said to have 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



65 



wrought, was not expressly communicated. Justin, 
then, in the Scriptures he recited, adduced authority 
for one part of the Romish dogma, and left the other 
unauthenticated ; and, inasmuch as he conceived him- 
self assigning sufficient authority for the entire doc- 
trine, which he taught, he must be regarded as hold- 
ing, that in declaring the eucharist to be Christ's 
body, his words did not imply a miracle, which, on 
the part of the Christians, he had not claimed power 
or authority to perform. 

Thus, the Scriptural passage whereon the doctrine 
of the Eucharist was grounded, containing no war- 
rant for the Romish dogma, proves, we might almost 
conclude, that Justin was unacquainted with what 
he did not think of defending. The bread, which 
was for a remembrance of Christ," could, without 
any straining of metaphor, be called the body which 
it represented, and the commemoration in the mar- 
tyr's days, and the injunction given by our Lord 
would, in all parts, correspond. We are not with- 
out abundant proofs that such metaphors were in 
ordinary use — but a single instance will serve our 
present purpose. We shall take it from Justin him- 
self — " The pasch (or paschal lamb) was Christ."* 
Can we doubt that he employed a similar figure in a 
passage which must otherwise be unintelligible? 

I cannot conclude this part of my subject, without 
noticing how aptly the testimony of the martyr will 
apply to the doctrine of the Church of England. 
The reader may have observed, that he does not say, 
" The bread, &c. is no longer common," but " we 
do not takey'\ or receive, these gifts." The gifts are 
bread and wine, but they are received In a manner 
in which they cease to be common. Thus, the 

* Jus. Dial, cum Tryph. Cologne, 1686, p. 388, 

i Aet/ut/ietvo/utv, 
F 2 



66 



GUIDE TO AN 



Church of England, in the prayer of consecration— 
" Grant, that we, receiving these thy creatures of 
bread and wine, according to thy Son, our Saviour 
Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of 
his death and passion, may be partakers of his most 
blessed body and blood." How accurately this 
prayer agrees with the doctrine taught, and the dis- 
cipline observed in Justin's age, will at once appear 
by calling to remembrance his expressions. He dis- 
sents from the Church of Rome in one most import- 
ant point, namely, as to the change produced in 
what is termed the Lord's body, he coincides with 
the doctrine of the Church of England in that parti- 
cular, in regarding the elements as bread and wine, 
and in not receiving them as common ; and when we 
remember, that he declared the paschal lamb to be 
Christ, and call to mind the definition of the Church 
Catechism, that the outward part or sign in the sacra- 
ment is the bread and wine, and the inward part or 
thing signified, the body and blood of Christ, we 
can scarcely hesitate to afi[irm that in this particular 
also, the Church of England and the apologist of 
primitive times hold the same doctrine. 

Further, Justin, in explaining the worship of the 
Christian Sabbath, does not, by a single expression 
indicate, that adoration was paid to the sacrament. 
Was this to describe the mass ?* 

* This is not the only particular in which Justin directly 
opposes the dogma of transubstantiation. The Catechism 
of the Council of Trent, p. ia6, affirms, that "Because 
the accidents cannot be inherent to the body and blood of 
Christ, it remains, that, beyond all the order and course of 
nature, they uphold themselves without any other thing to 
support them. This has been the perpetual and constant 
doctrine of the Catholic Church/' &c. In direct opposi- 
tion to this perpetual doctrine Justin (Expositio Fidei) lays 
it down as a principle, that ** accidents subsist not of them- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



67 



CHAPTER V. 



Testimonies unsatisfactory where not fully stated — Augus- 
tine's Rule of Interpretation — Erasmus — Pascal, 

The Irish Gentleman seems rather to have coasted 
by the Fathers" than travelled through them, and 
the spoils by which his voyage of discovery has been 
rewarded, convey about as fair a notion of the scenes 
where his wanderings have been, as a hamlet at the 
Land's End would give of the Metropolis of Eng- 

selves and on the absurdity, so strong is his language, of 
supposing that they could, grounds an argument, which 
demanded caution and care, and constrained him, had 
there been any such doctrine known when he wrote as 
the Trent catechism discloses, to modify his expressions 
and his reasonings within limits which this doctrine assigned 
them. There is another passage in Justin's works, in which 
had he believed in tran substantiation, his belief was likely 
to be made manifest. The 117th Question, in his " Quaest." 
&c. &c., is with reference to our Lord's appearance to the 
disciples while the doors were closed. The querist, who 
is supposed to be (it should be remembered) an orthodox 
Christian, doubts how that could be a body which was so 
little sensible to the laws of matter. The example on 
which Justin relies in his answer, is that of Christ's walking 
on the waters, as if the one did not more than the other 
transcend the ordinary laws of nature. Had transubstan- 
tiation been the orthodox doctrine of his day, it may be 
doubted whether the question would have been proposed ; 
and it can hardly be doubted, that the " real presence" 
within undisturbed accidents, would not be without a no- 
tice. The twofold miracle of entering within these closed 
doors of the outward species, and not appearing to human 
eye, would be appealed to, in all probability, as a greater 
marvel than that by which the orthodox were alarmed. 



68 



GUIDE TO AN 



land, or an ingenious foreigner could glean, in his 
brief interview with a custom-house officer, of the 
British Constitution. Had it not been for this uni- 
formity in error, the travels would have been the 
most surprising event of modern times. In the sum- 
mer of the year 1829, the design to enter upon them 
was presented to the mind of the young inquirer, 
and long, it is probable, before the close of 1832 his 
vast undertaking was completed. Within that in- 
terval, he had made himself acquainted with all the 
forms of protestantism, and their respective systems 
of defence and explanation. He had trodden the 
mazes of early heresy without a clue, and returned 
safely to the rational world ; and, above all, with the 
aid of his lexicon alone, he had completed a progress 
through the Greek and Latin Fathers.* Wonderful, 
indeed ! in the short space of three years, the toils of 
long and learned lives, are not only surpassed, but 
rendered, in comparison with his modern exploits, 
altogether insignificant. What could have been his 
art, or who his conductor ? 

Every reader of *' the Travels" may have seen oc- 
casion to observe, that their author has been sin- 
gularly protected against witnessing those proofs of 
Protestant (or, which is the same thing, though, by a 
strange abuse of language, the names are contrasted, 
** Catholic") doctrine with which the early Fathers 
abound. He seems to have worn an inverted cap 
of darkness, which had the effect of obscuring every 
thing but what his conductor, who is also, perhaps, 
his editor, thought it convenient that he should see. 
Making allowances such as this, it is easy to under- 
stand how the toil of travel could be abridged. Ex- 
punge from the Fathers all that favours Protestant- 
ism — all that condemns the Church of Rome — and 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 12. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN, 



69 



there will be nothing marvellous in the task of reading 
what shall remain, in a much shorter space of time 
than our young student devoted to his antiquarian 
researches. 

A supposition more germaine to the matter we are 
forbidden to entertain. Many an inquirer into the 
doctrines of primitive times has been contented or 
compelled to limit his researches within bounds 
traced out by the advocate and expositor of some 
modern system ; but our Traveller was not of such. 
He, like the Edinburgh Reviewer, was not afraid to 
" poise down the folio saints from their shelves" and 
satisfy himself as to their doctrines and opinions, not 
from reports of those who professed to recite their 
expressions, but from themselves, by candid and am- 
ple examination. And yet, through some strange 
fatality, the selection he has made of passages from 
ancient writers, so cTosely resembles those which 
professional controversialists have, repeatedly, pub- 
lished, as to call for the same censure which has 
often been passed on their ostentatious and unsatis- 
factory compilations. 

A custom very much to be deprecated prevails, 
unhappily, among many who profess themselves de- 
fenders of what they term religious truth. They 
quote a detached expression or an unfinished sen- 
tence, and are not ashamed to offer it as the delibe- 
rate testimony of the individual whose name they 
have affixed to it. This is rather to play the eaves- 
dropper than to report fairly. You read over the 
pages of an author whose opinion you can learn by 
a comparison of various passages in which he has 
dh'ectly spoken on the subject of your inquiry, but 
you find in some unguarded moment that he has 
been betrayed into an inconsistency, and you repeat, 
as his deliberate conviction, a sentence which has 
accidentally escaped him, or which you have extorted 



70 



GUIDE TO AN 



from him " by the torture." Who has not condemned 
practices thus disingenuous, and complained of the 
uncertainty they have introduced into controversial 
discussion. It is mournful to think that men who 
make truth their pretext shall resort to artifices of the 
same character as may, consistently, be adopted by 
those who have no object, real or professed, but that 
of personal success ; and it renders the study of po- 
lemic lore, wearisome and disheartening, when it is 
seen to be carried on by atoms of testimony, let loose 
on the one side and on the other, fortuitously con- 
flicting, and often, as they are mutually extinguished, 
leaving scepticism behind them. 

There was one passage, which seemed beyond all 
others, worthy of a place in any collection of ancient 
testimonies, and which, for what reason wc are not 
informed, has not been honoured by our traveller's 
notice. Indeed, considering Ihe authority ascribed 
to its author's opinion, the nature of the subject to 
which it was applicable, the circumstances under 
which was delivered, its notoriety, and the unequivo- 
cal exactness of the language in which it is express- 
ed, the silence in which our traveller passed it by 
would be more intelligible in one, whose Romanism, 
(like the great house of Douglas,) was seen only in 
that maturity of attachment to his Church which 
forgets early difficulties and embarrassments. The 
author of the passage I am about to recite is St 
Augustine, and the subject to which it is applied, is 
a controversy, in which the main (perhaps we might 
add only) question is, whether certain words are to 
be understood in their literal or in a figurative ac- 
ceptation. It is as follows : "If the speech be a 
precept forbidding some heinous wickedness, or com- 
manding to do good, it is not figurative, but if it 
seem to command a crime, or to forbid that which 
is profitable, it is. For example, except ye eat 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



71 



the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, 
ye have no life in you" — "this seems to command a 
crime ; therefore it is figurative, commanding us to 
communicate in the passion of our Lord, and with 
delight and profit to lay up in our memories, that his 
flesh was crucified and wounded for our sakes."* 
Will any reflecting man say that one who believed 
in transubstantiation could express this opinion ; or 
will any man, cognisant of the admitted license of 
language, hesitate to acknowledge, that all those tes- 
timonies from Augustine's predecessors and coterapo- 
raries which our traveller has recited, belong to a 
class upon which a general judgment has been pro- 
nounced, in the rule of interpretation which declares 
our blessed Saviour's precept figurative. 

It is not from any want of counter-testimonies I 
forbear to insert here a long list of passages extract- 
ed from writings in which, " The Travels" would 
have us imagine, transubstantiation has found favour. 
The reader, who loves such lore, may find in the ap- 
pendix to this volume, citations to his purpose. Here 
I have thought it more advisable to copy the rule 
which has been laid down by an authority not to be 
(by Roman Catholics at least) resisted. This may 
assist in the discovery of truth ; the warfare of quo- 
tations gendereth a strife in which, commonly, the 
great interests of the cause are forgotten. 

But, in a controversy, in which, confessedly, the 
decision of the question, how have certain words 
been spoken — is all important ; it cannot be thought 
impertinent to the occasion to show the extreme li- 
cense in which the Church of Rome has indulged 
herself, for the declared purpose of exciting and 
spreading abroad a spirit of devotion. The Church 
of England aflirms that our Lord spoke, in a figura- 



* Aug. de Doct. lib. 3, c. 16. 



72 



GUIDE TO AN 



tive and spiritual sense, words, upon which, literally 
understood, a certain doctrine has been grounded. To 
show the propriety of the literal sense, advocates of 
this doctrine adduce, from the works of ancient 
writers, expressions which, their adversaries reply, 
must have, themselves, a figurative interpretation. In 
deciding between arguments thus contradictory, it is 
very important to have the assistance of testimony, 
such as that by which Augustine causes us to under- 
stand the prevailing opinion of the days when his 
light was not extinguished ; nor can it be accounted 
other than a happy provision, if living proof can be 
adduced, that, even at the present day, the Church 
of Rome allows herself a latitude of expression and 
interpretation in matters of the very highest moment, 
such as should render her advocates exceedingly 
temperate and cautious in the comments wherein 
they assume the belief of ancient authors. 

I'here is certainly no term of which a more pre- 
cise and careful use is demanded than the word 
"Adoration;" and yet, among the formalities of the 
Church of Rome, " the Adoration of the Cross" is 
enumerated. It is one of the ceremonies which take 
place on Good Friday, and the votary, in direct 
terms, pronounces words, by which, were they re- 
ceived in their literal acceptation, an act of gross 
idolatry is committed. We have, however, an au- 
thentic explanation of the sense in which the terms 
are used, and a direct denial that idolatry is intended.* 

* A learned bishop, the most Reverend Doctor Murray, 
thus explained " the Adoration of the Cross" for the in- 
struction of a Committee of the House of Commons in the 
year 1825: — "There has been for many centuries a cere- 
mony practised in the Catholic Church on Good Friday, 
which is called * the Adoration of the Cross,' a term which 
expresses the relative honour which is paid on that day to 
the symbol of our redemption; merely a relative honour. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



73 



It is to be remembered, that for tlie use of these 
words, the ordinary excuses cannot be pleaded. They 
were not struck out in the enthusiasm of eloquence, 
nor were they adopted in an emergency, because of 
poverty of language. They were the deliberate 
choice of the guardians of the Church of Rome, in a 
prudent spirit, looking before and after, to the pro- 
priety of the expression, and its probable conse- 
quences. The ceremony, to wliich so perilous a name 
was given, is designed to animate devotion, and the 
name is continued, notwithstanding all motives to 
change it, because it is held conducive to the same 
purpose. How can advocates of Romish doctrine 
require of Protestants to receive their explanation, 
and expect that it shall be confined to their own im- 
mediate ditliculty. What rule or reason do they pro- 
duce why a doctor of the Church, in the retirement 
of his study, having, at his command, all the assist- 
ance that the combined talent and learning of his 
order can supply, shall select the very worst word 
which language can afibrd to express his meaning, 
and, rather than alter, shall cover its grossness by an 

which does not terminate with the imag-e; but is referred 
to the g'reat object whom the image represents." 

A passage from Theodoret has been frequently adduced 
by Protestants, to prove, that the substance of the elements 
remains after consecration. The meaning* of the passag'e 
is too clear to admit of dispute, and it is too well known to 
justify insertion here; but a term is employed in it, which 
one class of reasoners translate as " revere, " Roman Cadio- 
lics (whose boldness is least tempered by caution) *' adore,*' 
a word which seems to denote an idea very different indeed 
from that which the Greek or^o^xyvsiTit; sig-nifies. If Doc- 
tor Murray's version of adoration" had been remembered, 
Roman Catholics would not have urged, as a point in their 
favour, Theodoret's supposed application of the term, or 
Protestants would have convinced them that it did not af- 
fect the argument. 
G 



74 



GUIDE to AN 



arbitrary interpretation ; and, if an orator of ancient 
times, eager to animate or subdue his audience, la- 
bouring under the difficulty of expression, which high 
thought and strong emotion have caused every speak- 
er to experience, has passed the very delicate line 
which separates justice from exaggeration, why he 
shall be chained down to the precise term he may 
have used, and not permitted, by parallel passages in 
his own discourses, to explain his meaning? 

The expressions in which the Sacrament of the 
Lord's supper is declared to be a sign or symbol of 
a sacrificial offering, were too numerous to have pass- 
ed unobserved, and too distinct to admit of misinter- 
pretation. Accordingly, a method has been devised 
to evade the argument they advanced, by which our 
Traveller appears to have been led astray. It is this ; 
the sacrament is both a figure and a reality of the 
same thing, itself and the figure of itself ; certainly it 
has not lost its shadow. " In a certain sense, and as 
far as it does not affect or qualify the belief in a real 
presence, the Catholic may, with perfect consistency, 
apply the words figure or symbol to the eucharist, 
seeing that every sacrament as such, must be an out- 
ward sign, and, consequently, a figure or symbol. In 
this sense it is that Pascal understands the terms in 
question, used by the Father; and as the view taken 
by so great a man of an article of faith so disputed, 
cannot but be interesting, I shall here transcribe his 
own characteristically clear words : " Nous croyons 
que la substance du pain etant changee en celle du 
corps de notre Seigneur Jesus Christ, il est present 
reellement au^ Saint Sacrement. Voila une des ve- 
rites. Une autre est que ce sacrement est aussi une 
figure de la croix & de la gloire, & une commemora- 

* io (not iri). The choice of such a preposition is, at 
least, remarkable. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



75 



tion des deux. Voila la foi Catholique, qui comprend 
ces deux Veritas qui semblent opposees." In fine, 
Pascal concludes with respect to the opponents of 
his doctrine, that they hold the sacrament to be figu- 
rative, and so far are not heretics, but that they deny 
the real presence, and in this their heresy consists. 
"Enfin," ils nient la presence reele, &; en cela ils 
sont heretiques.* It is very remarkable that, through- 
out the entire passage, there is nothing which im- 
plies Pascal's belief in trans ubstantiation, nor is there 
a single expression from which any degree of inge- 
nuity could deduce a plausible inference that Pascal 
ranked among heresies, the belief in ''an outward 
and visible sign," and, " as the inward and spiritual 
grace," communion of the body and blood of Christ. 
In truth, it is only with the doctrine of the Church 
of England the sentiment of Pascal coincides. The 
sacraments have symbols for the senses, real grace 
for the spirit ; and all who bear in mind the simple 
rule of reasoning, that more causes are not to be as- 
signed for any phenomena than are true and suffi- 
cient to account for them, will soon become per- 
suaded, that, when the Church of Rome admits the 
sacrament to be a sign or figure, she deprives herself 
of all testimony, that the real presence, with which 
it is blessed and dignified, can be other than spiritual. 

May I be permitted here to observe, that it de- 
mands all my reliance on the ingenuousness of the 
author, to believe that he did not purpose to betray 
the cause of which he professed himself a defender. 
If, indeed, it was his object to show that the faith of 
Rome is not what it is commonly considered, or that 
the doctrines which were held in ancient Irelandt, 
are not what are now received by the majority of her 
people, his conduct is intelligible ; but if he were 



• Travels, Sec. vol. i. p. 87. f Travels, Dedication. 



76 



GUIDE TO AN 



really desirous to be esteemed the advocate of tran- 
substantiation, the passages which he has sheeted 
from Pascal and Erasmus, appear strangely at vari- 
ance v^ith his professions. That members of the 
Church of Rome believed in her doctrines could add 
nothing to the evidence of her truth, but that they 
should disbelieve, must be considered as very strong 
(if not altogether conclusive) testimony against her. 
Let the reader weigh well our Traveller's citations 
from the works of Pascal and Erasmus, writers whom 
he very highly and most deservedly eulogises, and 
whom he supposes to have testified their faith in the 
manner following : 

" The state of Christians, as Cardinal du Perron, 
in accordance with the opinions of the Fathers, re- 
marks, holds a middle state between the place of the 
Blessed and that of the Jews. The Blessed possess 
Jesus Christ really without figure or veil. The Jews 
possessed of Christ only the figures and the veils ; 
such were the manna and the paschal lamb ; and the 
Christians possess Jesus Christ in the eucharist, 
veritably and really, but still covered with a veil. 
Thus is the eucharist completely suited to the state 
of faith in which we are placed, since it contains 
Christ within it really, but still Christ veiled. Inso- 
much that this state would be destroyed, were Christ 
not really under the species of bread and wine, as 
the heretics pretend, and it would be also destroyed, 
did we receive him unveiled as they do in heaven ; 
seeing that this would be to confound our state, in the 
former case, with that of Judaism, in the latter, with 
that of glory."* Thus far Pascal. The passage 
from Erasmus is to the same effect. " Since the 
ancients to whom the Church, not without reason, 
gives so much authority, are all agreed in opinion, 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 144. 



f 

IRISH GENTLEMAN. 77 

that the true substance of the body and blood of Je- 
sus is in the eucharist, since in addition to all this, 
has been added the constant authority of the synods, 
and so perfect an agreement of the Christian world, 
let us also agree with them in this heavenly mystery, 
and let us receive here below, the bread and the cha- 
lice of the Lord, in the veil of the species, until we 
eat and drink him without veil in the kingdom of 
God:' 

Will any man impute, to either of these eminent 
writers, the monstrous blasphemy, which the above 
words, in italics, literally interpreted signify; that 
the fiction of Prometheus is to be realized in heaven, 
and that the redeemed of Jesus are the vultures by 
whom he shall be perpetually preyed upon ? No, 
to eat and drink" in heaven are, confessedly, terms 
denoting that spiritual gladness and refreshment 
which the blessed enjoy in the presence of the Lord 
and Saviour. And how does this differ from the 
participation in the eucharist ? In heaven it is with- 
out veil. In other respects, participation in the 
sacrament, and that which glorified spirits enjoy, are 
the same. As, therefore, the communion enjoyed 
by spirits of just men made perfect is not a fleshly 
banquet, although it is described in terms by which 
literally understood, that gross and blasphemous 
participation would be implied, neither should so 
oflfensive an idea be annexed to the same words 
when applied to the sacrament of the Lord's supper ; 
and, as the distinction marked between the state of 
the Jews and that of the Christians proves, that Pas- 
cal accounted the eucharist to be more than a mere 
figure, so does his comparison of the Christian con- 
dition with that of the blessed in heaven also prove, 
that he believed in something very diflferent from the 
doctrine of transubstantiation. 

This great man and the illustrious associate whom 
G 2 



78 



GUIDE TO AN 



our traveller assigns him had not indeed cast away 
all the ensigns of an unscriptural Church, but they 
appear to have combatted against her most pernicious 
doctrines, 

Cauti clypeos, mentitaque tela 
Agnocunt, atque ora sono discordia sig-nant." 



CHAPTER VI. 



Discipline of the Secret— -Calumnies ag-ainst early Chris- 
tians — Impostures of Heretics. 

The cloud of witnesses which, in truth, only darkens 
counsel, when, instead of testimony, they offer no 
more than casual and unguarded expressions, may be 
suffered to pass away. If the reader please to exer- 
cise his judgment, he is furnished with a mean 
whereby he can try every passage in which the Tra- 
veller seems to imagine he has found transubstantia- 
tion, and in which a more experienced observer, 
whether he followed or neglected Augustine's rule, 
whether he received the expressions figuratively or 
in the letter, would find that there was decided vari- 
ance from the decrees of Trent. But there are difiii- 
culties of greater moment. Although " The Travels" 
are, to a considerable extent made up of those tradi- 
tionary subtleties in which the champions of the 
Church of Rome are careful to prove themselves, 
like their Church, the same yesterday, to day, and 
for ever, the young inquirer, under the influence of 
his temporary protestantism, had been seduced into 
an exercise of original thought which has shown 
itself in his composition. If he has brought to the 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 79 

field of controversy, the confuted arguments of his 
predecessors, he has at least consulted his own judg- 
ment, and displayed the resources of his own genius, 
in the mode of disposing them, and he has created, 
if not the reality, the semblance of difficulties, such 
as challenge to themselves more attention, than, under 
less skilful management, his materials of defence 
would have demanded. 

The doctrine of the secret" serves a double pur- 
pose. It suggests a reasonable excuse for any defi- 
ciencies which may be observed in the proofs offered 
on behalf of transubstantiation, and it is, itself, con- 
verted into a substantive evidence that the doctrine 
is not new. How could greater clearness have been 
expected in the writings of men who were so re- 
strained ? Could any dogma, less awful and myste- 
rious than that of the Romish eucharist, have im- 
posed the necessity of such a silence ? 

It is not easy, as our Traveller observes*, to as- 
certain the precise time at which this silence was 
first enjoined or practised, but, it appears, that, 
about the end of the second century, it began to be 
rigidly enforced. Tertulliant, he informs us, was 
the first of the early writers who became, in his 
notices of the great mystery, complex and ambi- 
guous. It was an inauspicious commencement. 
Whether, at the time when his manner changed, 
Tertullian was a heretic, or if disingenuousness was 
the precursor of his errors, we are not instructed. 
We learn no more from the young inquirer, than 
that the discipline of the secret was first made of 
consequence by one in whom heresy found a cham- 
pion. Up to his time, there was little concealment 
among Christian teachers, — nor have we been taught 
clearly, to know why it ever became necessary. 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 96. 



t Ibid 95. 



86 



GUIDE TO AN 



Persecutions from the heathen, persecutions by false 
brethren, persecutions because of calumny had been 
previously endured, and it was not by subtleties or 
concealment they had been mitigated or averted. It 
is not easy to discern what sudden and urgent afflic- 
tion or embarrassment called for a departure from 
the simplicity of former practice ; and the difficulty 
is not lessened by any thing in the temper or the 
character of the individual with whom the secrecy is 
said to have originated. 

But the most remarkable circumstance in this 
affair of " the secret," is, that the young Traveller's 
testimonies are almost all gleaned from writers im- 
mediately under its influence. Five apostolic Fa- 
thers, various eminent Christians lived and wrote 
before those days when the enunciation of doctrine 
became complicated and ambiguous. With the ex- 
ception of two passages, which the reader ha& 
already seen, the age of candour was unproductive ; 
and no sooner is it laid down as a rule, that the 
doctrine of the eucharist must not be openly and 
clearly taught, than there is said to be discovered in 
the manner of disguising it, arguments favourable to 
transubstantiation. Nor is it less worthy of remark, 
that all these testimonies are extracted from docu- 
ments which the necessities of the secret should 
have disparaged; while, in the only memorials 
wherein information could have been found, it does 
not appear that the young Traveller ever sought as- 
sistance or instruction. 

It need scarcely be remarked, that, from the time 
in which it is considered a solemn duty to disguise 
or conceal religious truth, the testimony of all who 
are bound by so unchristian an obligation, ceases to 
be valuable. It is, therefore, of much consequence 
to have a witness to which (as we turn from imper- 
fect or ambiguous definitions, at best, because of the 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 81 

fatal obligation, suspicious and unsatisfactory,) we 
can apply for exact and sufficient information. Such 
a witness God has been pleased to raise up and pre- 
serve for his people in the scripture. There was 
another witness. A rule of faith had been agreed 
upon by ecclesiastical teachers, embracing the great 
articles \vhich Christian men were bound to know 
and believe. Tertullian recites it, Irenaeus recites 
it, Clement and Ignatius, indeed it might be said all 
the primitive Fathers, bear testimony, in some form, 
to its fulness and truth. It was named the Tradi- 
tion, and was that summary of belief, which, even 
where writing was unknown, barbarous nations pre- 
served in their hearts and memories. 

The young Traveller was aware of the existence 
of one of these formularies, and with it, in all its lead- 
ing doctrines, the others coincided. The Apostles' 
Creed," he writes, is supposed to have been one 
of the signs of the secret, by which the initiated or 
baptised knew each other, and to have thence derived 
the designation of symbol,^ — See Hist, of Apostles' 
Creed." Here, it might be said, was the ark in 
which doctrine was deposited, and in which it should 
be preserved, so long as the tyranny of the secret 
threw discredit over the more popular writings. 
Here was a document protected by a two-fold secu- 
rity — its concealment from all but the initiated, and 
the precision and brevity successfully studied in its 
compilation. To those who had not scripture it 
communicated all that was necessary to be known, 
and to us who, from a remote period, look back for 
information, it testifies what those doctrines were, 
which were revealed to the initiated, and were neces- 
sary of all to be believed. When we find this docu- 
ment containing not a syllable inapplicable to the 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 72. 



82 



GUIDE TO AN 



doctrine and sacraments of the Reformed Church*, 
and when we find it speaking of the Lord's ascension 
into heaven, his sitting at the right hand of the 
Father, from whence he shall come to judge the 
quick and the dead, with a distinctness which seems 
almost tantamount to a warning against the doctrine 
that he should ever again come to be offered on the 
altar, we may not perhaps feel justified in complain- 
ing that the Irish Gentleman sought his information 
elsewhere; but we may surely feel and express 
regret, that he did not compare the symbol which 
contained truth undisguised, with the writings in 
which he /ound strong evidences of concealment and 
evasion, and that, at least, he did not instruct us, 
why he preferred the testimony which his inquiries 
had taught him to disparage. 

The reader of the Travels must have observed, 
that the principal evidences to the antiquity of tran- 
substantiation have been sought and discovered in 
the works of men, who, as the Irish Gentleman in- 
forms us, wrote on that subject with studied ambi- 
guity, and that no attempt has been made to remove 
the unfavourable impression produced against them. 
He Vv^ill remember also, that the only human docu- 
ment which during the rigour of that inauspicious 
discipline, could be looked upon with respect, has 
not been at all regarded by the anxious Traveller, 
and appears to discountenance his opinions. 

But, other evidences have been adduced, of an in- 
direct and therefore perhaps a more unsuspicious 
nature. While the discipline of the secret prevailed, 
calumny was not silent, or imagination inactive, and 
the most malevolent reports were propagated and 
believed, respecting Christian practices, and banquets 

It is evident that the words ** Communion of Saints'* 
may have a spiritual interpretation. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



83 



of human flesh and blood. In these reports, the 
young Traveller hears the testimonies of ignorance 
and malice to the doctrine of the eucharist. He has 
discovered, also, that a certain heretic produced the 
appearance of blood flowing into the consecrated cup, 
and concludes that this imposture would never have 
been attempted unless a doctrine like that of the 
Church of Rome had disposed congregations to feel 
its influence. Arguments of this character are wor- 
thy of examination. 

Still enough, notwithstanding this system of 
reserve and secrecy had transpired respecting the 
Christian doctrine of the eucharist, to set the imagin- 
ation and malevolence of unbelievers at work. In- 
distinct notions of dark, forbidden feasts, where it 
w^as said, flesh and blood w^ere served up to the guests, 
became magnified by the fancies of the credulous, 
into the most monstrous fictions. Stories were told 
and believed of the dreadful rites practised by the 
Christians in their initiations, &c." it is not diffi- 
cult, of course, to see through all this disfigurement 
of calumny, the true doctrine of w^hich the profane 
had caught these perverting glimpses."* 

It would have been considerate in the Irish Gen- 
tleman, had he signified to his readers the works 
from which he had gathered his information respect- 
ing the calumnies against the early Christians, and 
the doctrine which gave occasion for them. In truth, 
the works of the Fathers are not like that field which 
persevering industry converted into wealth while 
seeking the treasure which it Vv^as thought to conceal. 
Much more gladly would one " drink and away" from 
many of these repertories of truth and fable ; and when 
valuable information has been extracted from them, 
it is always matter of especial gratitude if a direction 



* Travelsj voL i. p. 12^. 



84 



GUIDE TO AN 



also has been given to the very spot from which the 
precious deposit has been extracted. We seldom are 
called upon to thank the young traveller for such an 
accommodation ; but, in his notice of the calumnies 
directed against the early Church, he leaves us alto- 
gether dependent on his own epitome for the evidence 
of his assertions. 

One calumny noticed by the Traveller, it were 
especially to be desired, he had accompanied by the 
name of some ancient author. It was " of an infant 
covered with paste, being set before the new comer, 
on which he was required to inflict the first murder- 
ous stab, and then partake of its flesh and blood with 
the rest, as the common pledge of secrecy,"* a 
calumny not deserving of much attention for itself, 
but rendered very important by the commentary ap- 
pended to it, namely, that it was a misrepresentation 
of the eucharist. 

The only writer of the primitive times in whose 
works I have found a counterpart for this story of 
the child, is Minucius Felix. In his Octavius, he 
appears to have collected and spoken, in the person 
of an adversary, all the calumnies which had been 
circulated against the Christians ; that they wor- 
shipped the head of an ass, that in their secret meet- 
ings, offences unutterable were committed, and that 
they became pledged to mutual secrecy by partici- 
pating in murder. I do not know where the com- 
ment of the Traveller is to be found. I certainly 
have never been able to discover it in any ancient 
author. Minucius Felix is so far from countenancing 
such an explanation of the slander, that he does not 
appear to have ever heard or known of the doctrine 
which might suggest it. Speaking of the oblations 
which Christians presented, he concludes a series of 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 128. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



85 



antithetical sentences with the expression *' he who 
rescues a man from danger slays the best victim.^^ 
These are our sacrifices. His mode of accounting 
for the calumny is, that the Daemons strove by such 
evil reports to preoccupy the Gentiles against a reli- 
gion in which they could be saved. To the same 
purpose Irenaeus writes* that an evil being sowed 
heresies in the Church, that all might be defamed by 
the iniquities of false teachers, who could bring a 
reproach on those whom they were unable to lead 
astray. Justin Martyrt points out in his apology 
the necessity of distinguishing between the orthodox 
and the perverted. . As, under the common name of 
philosophy, many and discordant sects may be enu- 
merated, so, he writes, in the outward profession of 
Christianity, are to be named many with whose foul 
practices or principles the faithful should not be 
calumniated. The heretics he does not defend from 
the charges Avhich are advanced against the whole 
Christian people.f Many other writers might be 
named who defended their faith against false accusa- 
tions, but not one, at least so far as I have been able 
to see, who adopted a defence like that which the 
young Traveller has provided. § Surely it would 

* Iren lib. 1, 24. f Apol. 

t Justin, in express terms, writes, that he knows not 
whether the accusations, respecting cannibal feasts are not 
justly brought against heretics. Apol. 

§ I am confirmed in my opinion that the comment of the 
young Traveller is new, by not finding any justification for 
it in the Annals of Baronius as epitomised by Spondanus. 
It is evident, neither the annalist nor the editor would have 
suffered such a testimony to escape. In> note, Ann. 120, 
p. 193, vol. i. it is said that the euch^rist misunderstood 
might have co-operated with the inypieties of heretics to 
excite prejudice against Christians. What the editor in his 
own person gives in a note, he would gladly have inserted 
in the text. 

H 



86 



GUIDE TO AN 



have been a most natural one had it been available. 
But " the secret" — it did not affect Justin Martyr. 
His apology contains an account of the doctrine and 
discipline of the eucharist. Had he conceived scandal 
to be occasioned by false representations of its nature, 
he showed that he was free to correct them. 

Once indeed the eucharist is named in connexion 
with these calumnies, but not in such a manner as 
to strengthen the argument for transubstantiation. 
CEcumenius has preserved a fragment of Irenaeus, in 
which he says that the slaves of Christians, Cate- 
chumens, who had heard their masters speak of the 
divine communion as the body and blood of Christ, 
''thinking that it was truly (-^^ ovti^ body and 
blood," signified so much to Grecians who had ap- 
prehended them. This would hardly be accounted 
serviceable to the argument of the Irish Gentleman, 
inasmuch as it testifies indirectly against transub- 
stantiation, and shows how the eucharistic presence 
could be figurative and yet so misinterpreted as to 
furnish a pretext for defamation.* 

* Baronius relates a dreadful story of a sect of heretics 
who were said to have wounded in very nriany parts of the 
body a male infant of one year old, and to have used the 
blood in the eucharistic bread. If the child lived he be- 
came their high priest; if he died of his wounds, they re- 
counted him a martyr. Jerome, Epiphanius, Philastrius, 
Augustine, and others, are reported to have preserved this 
story, which however, according to Baronius, does not ap- 
pear to be clearly proved.— -Bar. Cent. 173-9. One thing 
will approve itself to every unprejudiced inquirer, that, 
from whatever source the calumnies against the Christians 
were derived, especially those relative to the cannibal 
orgies, the foundation or pretext for them is traced to the 
heretics. Indeed it would seem as if the orthodox became 
the victim of their own contrivances. They appear to have 
been credulous in receiving, and most industrious in circu- 
lating every species of defamation against those who dif- 
fered from them in faith ^ they were ready to ascribe to 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



87 



I am seriously inclined to believe, that, in the 
jugglery of the heretic Marcus, a foundation for the 
offensive reports against the Christians can be found, 
no less than in distorted representations of their own 
discipline and doctrine. Hov/ever, it serves a dif- 
ferent purpose in the Travels." He contrived 
by some mechanical process to produce the appear- 
ance of blood flowing into the chalice after the words 
of consecration." Were any additional proof want- 
ing of the prevalence in those times of a belief of 
the transubstantiation of the wine into blood, this 
effort of the Marcionite heretic to outbid, if I may 
so say, the orthodox altar in its marvels, would 
abundantly furnish it." The Traveller's account of 
this imposture is confirmed by an extract from the 
Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire des Egaremens de 
I'esprit humain,* &c. &c. *'I1 (Marc) avoit deux 
vases^ un plus grand et un plus petit ; il mettoit le 
vin destine, a la celebration du sacrifice de la Messe 
dans le petit vase, et faisoit une priere ; un instant 
apres la liqueur bouillonnoit dans le grand vase,^ et 
Ton y voyoit du sang au lieu du vin." 

There is a spirit of noble daring in the argument 
constructed on this incident, but it is not as discreet 
as it is enterprising. The pretended miracle of 
Marcus was an effort to outbid the orthodox."! 
It may have been, if the orthodox believed that there 

heretics the most enormous errors, and to tax them with the 
foulest practices. Eventually they suffered under a com- 
mon reproach with those of whom, whether justly or not, 
they had spread an evil report. 

Could heretics, so early, have beg-un to elaborate the 
doctrine of transubstantiation, and were the orthodox in- 
fluenced and justified, by secret and indistinct rumours 
respecting" such a rite, in imagining* those stories which are 
now so ingeniously perverted. 

* Travels, vol. i. p. 149. 

t Ibid. p. 150, 



88 



GUIDE TO AN 



was no transiibstantialion. If they believed in that 
doctrine, the attempt of the impostor was far from 
"outdoing" them. They performed the two-fold 
miracle of changing the wine, and separating acci- 
dents from their substance, or, if it may be so said, 
bringing blood into the chalice, and rendering it 
invisible. The imposture which counterfeited by far 
the less wonderful part of this great marvel, could 
not properly be said to surpass it ; and, inasmuch as 
it certainly surpassed the appearance of a figurative 
eucharist, we ought perhaps to argue, from the suc- 
cess he obtained, that what the heretic had to outdo 
or outbid, was not the complicated mystery of Tran- 
substantiation. 

But it is directly asserted, that this was the change 
the heretic designed to counterfeit. It was effected 
in the Mass, " le vin destine a la celebration du sa- 
crifice de la Messe." It was done in rivalry of 
the Catholic Eucharist." It was an absurd counter- 
feit of " that blood of which the heretics at the same 
time denied the reality." That is to say, the delusion 
of Marcus presupposes " the Mass" and all its ac- 
companiments. This must be determined by the 
historical account of the circumstances, in which his 
imposture was successfully attempted. Where, then, 
is this historical account contained. The " Travels," 
in direct terms, convey one part, that it was in imi- 
tation of the orthodox ; the Memoires vouch for the 
other, which relates to the sacrifice of the mass ! 

It is really wonderful to witness the activity with 
which evidences suitable to their purpose are sought 
out by those who have the honour of the Church 
of Rome 'at heart, and how rapidly they fly from 
Father to Father, and from all the Fathers to some 
adventurous modern, if his reasonings or his alle- 
gations are more accommodating to their purposes. 
" Curse me Protestantism" is the command under 



IRJSH GENTLEMAN. 



89 



which they seem to act ; and if, standing on the 
eminences of early Christian literature, a spirit of 
blessing is within them, there is a Balak at hand to 
say, " Come, I pray thee, to another place, where 
thou shalt see" (them); "thou shalt see but the 
utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all — 
curse me them from thence." Was a deceiving 
spirit of this kind companion to the Irish Gentleman 
in his Tour, which, causing him to forsake the sum- 
mits whence the primitive Church was had in pros- 
pect, taught him that the points of view from which 
least could be seen, would be most conducive to his 
purposes, and would least appal him with the vision 
of Protestantism ? 

The original account of the impostures of the he- 
retic Marcus is contained in the writings of Irenseus ; 
and it is remarkable, that the circumstances which 
rendered the juggle worthy of being converted i»to 
an argument in favour of transubstantiation, are not 
noticed in the early Fathers' report — nor, indeed, so 
far as I have been able to discover, by any early 
author. Even Baronius, at least in the enormous 
abridgement of his annals, by Spondamus (the only 
form in which I have had opportunity to consult 
him), is silent altogether as to those particulars from 
which the Irish gentleman argues an agreement be- 
tween the Roman and the primitive doctrine of the 
eucharist. That, among the impostures of Marcus, 
one was a change in the appearance of the eucha- 
ristic chalice, or its contents, may be acknowledged ; 
but that he had not any design to imitate the ortho- 
dox, or display in a visible form, what they offered 
under the species of wine, is not only not authenti- 
cated, but is met by the fullest and most decisive 
contradiction which, in the circumstances of the case, 
could be offered or expected. 

Marcus, as Irenaeus represents, " was a true pre- 
H 2 



90 



GtJlDE TO AN 



cursor of anti-ehrist;" for, combining the juggling 
practices of Anaxilaus with " the impiety of those 
who are called Magi, he is reputed, among such as 
have not understanding, to perform mighty works.* 
Feigning to bless the cups mingled with wine, and 
prolonging the prayer of invocation, he causes them 
to appear red or purple, that it m.ay be thought that 
the grace from those over all,, drops her blood in the 
cup, and that they who are present may become 
very desirous to partake of the liquor, in order that 
on them also, the grace invoked by the magician, 
may overflow. Again, giving to women mingled 
cups, he commands them to bless in his presence ; 
and, when this is done, presenting another cup much 
larger than that which the deluded female has bless- 
ed, and emptying from the smaller, blessed by the 
woman, into that which he has prepared, speaking 
at the same time, thus, * May she who was before 
all, the incomprehensible and ineffable grace, fill 
your inner man, and accomplish in you knowledge 
of her, sowing the grain of mustard seed in a good 
soil;' speaking thus, and stimulating into madness 
the unhappy creature, he appears a w^onder-worker, 
the large cup becoming filled from the smaller, so as 
to overflow. By practices of this nature he has de- 
ceived many, and drawn them after him ; and it is 
understood that he has an attendant or familiar 
(jrctfiiSpov^ daemon, through which he seems to pro- 
phecy, and imparts the gift to as many females as he 
accounts worthy participators in his grace." 

Such is the narrative of Irenaeus, as to the impos- 
ture of Marcus noticed in the Travels" and his 

* Iren, lib. i. c. 8. We have not the Greek of the above 
expression. In the Latin version it is " perficere virtates 
virtus being used elsewhere by the translator as synonymous 
with the Greek, «fJv^y.<fc, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



91 



success in gaining proselytes. I could perhaps make 
the passage and my comments clearer, by entering 
more at large into the subject, but an exposure of all 
the doctrines taught, and the delusions practised by 
this profligate blasphemer, would be an evil attended 
by no compensating advantage. I confine myself, 
therefore, to a few remarks on the extract presented 
to the reader. Marcus is said to have combined the 
arts of the juggler Anaxilaus, with the impiety of 
the Magi. Anaxilaus appears to have been remark- 
able for feats of legerdemain, especially for changing 
the colour of liquids contained in glass cups. Arti- 
fices of this kind were not employed by Marcus for 
the purpose of illustrating any Christian doctrine. 
It was with magic the jugglery was united. It is 
in the next place to be observed, that the blood 
brought down into the' chalice was not produced as 
the blood of Christ, but of an imaginary being from 
whom the Valentinians (among whom Marcus held a 
distinguished place) professed to believe the (Eons 
had proceeded. In the third place it is to be re- 
membered, that the miracles, (the jugglery rather) 
had such an effect on many, as to authenticate the 
Vvild doctrine to which it ministered, and to draw 
them from the faith- — and finally, that, upon an occa- 
sion, when, were the doctrine of the Church of Rome, 
the doctrine of the primitive Chuch, some reflection 
on the outraged tenet might have reasonably been 
looked for, not a single expression or term is em- 
ployed, by which such an agreement could, however 
faintly, be indicated. 

Let the reader then bear in remembrance, that 
the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass," is the 
exclusive property of the French collector, that the 
discovery of the heretic's design, to outdo or " outbid" 
the eucharist, is aitogeiher an original invention, or 
else rests upon anonymous and most probably in- 



92 



GUIDE TO AN 



sufficient evidence, and that, accordingly, the case, 
when stated most favourably for the Church of Rome, 
divested of all the attendant circumstances which make 
against her, is this — the heretic Marcus changed the 
colour of a liquid contained in the eucharistic cup, and, 
by the pretended miracle, seduced numbers from the 
faith. If we are called on to decide, by such impos- 
ture and its result, what the faith was, the question 
will find its answer in the reply to another inquiry ; 
— who would be likely to think the deceit the greater 
marvel, those whose discipline of a figurative pre- 
sence was confessedly surpassed, or the believers in 
transubstantiation. 

It has been advanced, as a boast, at least as a 
merit on the part of the Church of Rome, that she 
extended the principle of becoming all things, to 
all men, so far as to admit Paganism into her disci- 
pline, for the purpose of attracting heathens.* Is it 

* " So far from denying- their adoption of some Pagan 
customs, the early Christians would have avowed and jus- 
tified such a policy, &c.'* **The numerous vestiges, in- 
deed, of old Paganism which partly from policy, partly 
from the force of habit and imitation, were still retained in 
tlie Ritual, language and ceremonies of the early Church 
would take far more space tlian my present limits can afford 
to enumerate them/' Travels, &c. vol. i. p. 183, 184. 
'* The Catholics themselves are amongst the first to avow 
it, well knowing, however the Protestants may wish to 
blink such a conclusion, that these occasional resemblances 
to the forms of Paganism, in the ceremonies of their 
Church, form one of the countless proofs she can give of 
the high antiquity of her descent/' Ibid. p. 187. If the 
religion of the Church of Home be acknowledged as hea- 
thenism with a few Christian appendages, the justice of 
these proofs is fully admitted, but if it be insisted that the 
substance of the religion is Christianity, that the embellish- 
ments alone are Pagan, the proofs come with a bad grace 
from the professed followers of him who warned his disci- 
ples against the folly of putting new wine into old bottles. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



93 



likely that she would not indulge in equal latitude, 
when the object was to rescue her own children 
from foul and execrable heresy, or to guard them 
against the wiles of accomplished and most flagitious 
deceivers. The tendency of the delusion, which 
Marcus found so successful, was, to create, in the 
minds of those who witnessed his performances, 
admiration of his power, and to indispose them for 
feeling interest in the sober and spiritual worship of 
the orthodox. The obvious mode of destroying his 
influence which would present itself to accommo- 
dating Christians, not having the knowledge by which 
his artifices could be exposed, would be, to abate the 
reverence which his wonders had attracted to him, 
by magnifying what was done in their own assem- 
blies. If they believed only in a figurative eucharist, 
they would endeavour to show how the type became 
exalted and (it would not be too much to anticipate) 
sacred, by its correspondence with the holy thing 
which it represented. If they believed in a spiritual 
presence, they would strive not to exalt (for that 
would be impossible) the majesty of their belief, 
but they would exercise all their ability in so exhi- 
biting the doctrine, that it should be vividly appre- 
hended. To this object piety as well as genius 
would be dedicated, and in the efibrt to explain spi- 
ritual gifts, the language of metaphor would, as was 
natural, be largely and fearlessly employed. The 
early Christian writers and orators were not pro- 
tected by the restraints of a nicely discriminating 
taste or a severe judgment; and, in the exertions 
which the impiety of the impostor provoked, it 
would not be wonderful if the sorceries he practised 

It was no easy matter to dlslodg-e heathenism, when a habit- 
ation was given. If for a moment removed, it would say, 
**I will return to my house, &c." 



94 



GUIDE TO AN 



on the cup, they, in some instances, undesignedly 
wrought upon the doctrine of the eucharist, by the 
extravagances of a copious and fervid, but what 
might perhaps be styled a barbarous and empirical 
eloquence. 

Thus, it may be, the source of transubstantiation 
has been discovered. It is certainly remarkable, 
that, subsequently to the practices of Marcus, during 
the period too, when the discipline of the secret was 
in force, those testimonies, on which the young 
Traveller relies, appear to have been furnished most 
abundantly. That they do not justify his conclu- 
sions it is scarcely necessary to affirm, but that they 
betray the excitement and eagerness which were 
naturally to be looked for, should not be denied or 
doubted. They cannot deceive any who take the 
trouble to investigate their meaning, but they are, in 
various instances, calculated to dazzle and delude the 
unwary. There are still many whom the juggle of 
the cup can deceive ; there are also many to whom 
exaggerated epithets and wild figures of speech may 
serve to disguise pure doctrine.* Increase of know- 

* Among- the most disting-uished proficients in the elo- 
quence by which Marcus was outbid, Chrysostom has ahvays 
held a hig'h place. The following* passag-e, from his work 
on the Priesthood, has been (with singular naivete, or with 
that reliance on the understanding of his readers, which 
succeeds best when it is most daring) adduced by the Rev 
Alban Butler, in support of the doctrine of the mass: 
" When you behold the Lord lying himself the victim on the 
altar, and offered up, and the priest attending and praying" 
over the sacrifice, jtjwrjo/ec? with his precious blood," kc. &c. 
This seems to rival the purpled cups of Marcus; but, sup- 
posing that the orator had not the fear of transubstantiation 
before his eyes, and an apprehension that his words might 
be perverted (as they have been) to countenance heresy, 
it is not at all wonderful that he should have used the 
strongest terms, which, as in the instance quoted by Mr 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



95 



ledge and exercise of the reflecting power, will, it 
is hoped, in time, apply their correctives, and, it is, 
meanwhile, a matter for which we should be deeply- 
thankful, that, by observance of the unsuspicious 
rule which St Augustine laid down, even the most 
ignorant may be guarded against the evils of figu- 
rative language. This is one of the cases in which 
a name is so valuable. The judgment of Augustine 
coincides with that of most thinking men, but the 
authority is all his own. A precept of our blessed 
Lord himself, he would receive only as a figure, be- 
cause it directed, what, literally understood, would 
be wickedness, namely, to eat his flesh and to drink 
his blood. Let such as cannot examine for them- 
selves, the cloud of false witnesses which gather to 
the carcase of transubstantiation, try their testimony 
by a rule to which none can object, who would estab- 
lish Roman doctrine by the authority of the Fathers. 



CHAPTER VIL 



Testimonies-— Councils — Creeds — ^Liturgies — Canon of the 
Mass now observed in Ireland. 

When Protestants describe the first four centuries* 
of the Church, as containing records, in which the 

Butler, are so obviously figurative, that to account them 
otherwise would be to say that Chrysostom had outdone the 
Marcionite in his impostures. When eloquence failed, it 
is probable that grosser miracles were constructed, and that 
they made way for transubstantiation. 

* Rather it should be said, five centuries, in which the 
four councils of Nice, A.D. 335. Constantinople, A.D. 
381. Ephesus, A.D. 431. Chalcedon, A.D. 451. Of the 



96 



GUIDE TO AN 



faith was most purely preserved, they allude to 
documents of simpler character and of higher autho- 
rity than the testimonies of individual writers. The 
authorities, to which they refer, are the four councils, 
in which the great doctrines of the three creeds were 
defined ; and to these, they may have directed inqui- 
rers, not because of submission acknowledged to the 
Synods as of right, but, because, in their decrees, 
they affirmed the doctrine of Scripture. That the 
early Church, even so late as the sixth century, con- 
curred in the respect, which Protestants have ex- 
pressed, for the decisions in the first four councils, 
the following circumstance will testify. 

The exaggerated terms of approbation, in which 
Gregory the Great signified his judgment of the 
truths declared in these Synods, is very generally 
known. Conceiving their decisions to be purely 
Scriptural, he wrote in one of his epistles as if his 
respect for them was such as he felt for the gospels. 
This was, no doubt, disproportionate praise, but it 
was less offensive as given to what he believed to be 
Scriptural truth. He was desirous, however, that 
what is now received by Roman Catholics, as the 
second general council of Constantinople, should be 
united in honour with its predecessors, and found it 
difficult to prevail. On one occasion, he had ad- 
dressed an epistle to Theodelinda, Queen of the 
Lombards, which was to have been conveyed to the 
throne by Constantius, bishop of Milan. The epistle 
contained a reference to the fifth council, and the 
bishop declined the charge of it. Gregory, when 
informed of this unwillingness to abet his attempt, 
very modestly submitted to necessity, and returned 
the epistle with the obnoxious passage expunged. 

acts of these councils, we may regard as the result, the 
Nicene and Athanasian creed. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



97 



He wishes the bishop to understand that the council 
of Constantinople, which, he says, many call the 
fifth, contains nothing contrary to the preceding four, 
but, at the same time, commends his discretion in 
not forwarding a document which might occasion 
scandal. ''As to your statement, that you would 
not transmit my epistle to Theodelinda, because the 
fifth council was named in it, you acted correctly in 
not sending it. Wherefore, as you desire, we now 
name only four." Ep. ad. Const. Epis. Med. 

Did these councils or any of them pronounce a 
decree of faith respecting the eucharist ? No. How 
was their silence to be accounted for ? The rule of 
the secret could not restrain the council of Nice 
when it was summoned by Constantine, to deliber- 
ate on matters affecting the welfare of souls. Was 
there no necessity for such a definition. We have 
already examined passages which strongly called for 
animadversion if the Roman doctrines were true, 
and in " The Travels," we are reminded, that* " a 
branch of the Gnostic Christians, nearly as old as 
Christianity itself, could not acknowledge the bodily 
presence in the eucharist ;" nay, further, that " could 
one of these Gnostic Christians now reappear upon 
earth he would find nothing in the unreal and figura- 
tive presence, maintained by Church of England di- 
vines, that could, in the slightest degree, offend his 
most anti-corporeal notions, or prevent him from 
being conscientiously a partaker of the sacrament." 
If the doctrine of transubstantiation be true, there 
was pestilent error taught concerning it, in the first 
ages of the Church. Why did the error pass uncen- 
sured by the recognised authorities. 

But there were creeds as well as councils — approv- 
ed also by those general assemblies. Have they sup- 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 22r. 



98 



GUIDE TO AM 



plied the deficiency which appears in the acts of 
council, and warned the faithful against insidious 
heresy. On the contrary, their silence is of a cha- 
racter from which it might rationally be inferred 
that the orthodox held no such doctrine as of a real 
corporeal presence. It nrny be said, so full are these 
creeds, and so carefully have the articles proposed in 
them been compiled, that they contain a summary 
of the history of Redemption. Why are they silent 
concerning the most stupendous marvel that was 
ever announced to man. They pronounce that our 
Lord was conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born 
of the Virgin Mary ; that he was made man ; that 
he suffered and was buried ; that he arose from the 
dead ; that he ascended into heaven ; that he sitteth 
on the right hand of the Father ; that he shall come to 
judge the quick and the dead ; and that, at his com- 
ing, all men shall rise again with their bodies, and 
shall give account for their works. What ingenuity 
can insinuate transubstantiation into this symbol ? 
Our Lord sitteth at the right hand of the Father, 
He shall come — but how — to be hidden under ele- 
ments or species of bread and wine ? No ; he 
Cometh to judge the world." What is to take place at 
his coming ; he shall be offered as a victim on the 
altar? No ; but all men shall rise with their bodies, 
and shall give an account of their works. What 
shall be said in explanation. That it v/as not neces- 
sary to insert the article of transubstantiation ; that 
the doctrine was too generally known ? The first 
article in the creed, surely, need not have been re- 
cited, if what was generally known might be, what- 
ever its importance, omitted. Beside, the acknow- 
ledged fact, that the doctrine of the eucharist was 
misrepresented, rendered it necessary strictly to de- 
fine its nature. Let this matter be examined, as par- 
tially as it may, provided it be seriously examined, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



99 



and the conclusion will force itself irresistibly on the 
mind, that, if the doctrine of transubstantiation be 
true, there are not in existence documents which, 
with greater effect and with more dangerous authori- 
ty, inculcate heretical doctrine, than those which 
have been set forth to teach and guard truth ; the 
Apostles, the Nicene and the Athanasian creeds. 

In addition to the decisive testimony. Sic, there 
is yet another body of evidence still more ancient 
and precious to be found in those liturgies of early 
Churches, &;c. ; " and whatever interpolations they 
may have, some of them, suffered in their progress, 
it is not doubted, among the learned, that, in those 
parts where they are found all to agree, they may be 
depended on as authentic monuments of the apostolic 
times."* The inquiring Irish gentleman has not, of 
course, neglected to consult this body of evidence 
which he very deservedly ranks in authority above 
the private testimonies of the most eminent and un- 
inspired individuals. His selection of passages to 
serve his purpose is judicious. The extracts are the 
most favourable he could have chosen, and, as they 
are not very numerous, I esteem it more advisable to 
transcribe them, than to incur the imputation of not 
exhibiting them in all their strength. 

Liturgy of Jerusalem (called also the Liturgy of 
St James). ' Have mercy on us, O God the Father 
Almighty, and send thy Holy Spirit, the Lord and 
Giver of life, equal in dominion to thee and to thy 
Son ; who descended in the likeness of a dove on 
our Lord Jesus Christ — who descended on the Holy 
Apostles in the likeness of tongues of fire — that com- 
ing he may make this bread the life-giving body, the 
saving body, the heavenly body, the body giving 
health to souls and bodies, the body of ourLordj God 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 173. 



loo 



GUIDE TO AN 



and Saviour, Jesus, for the remission of sins and eter- 
nal life to those who receive it. Amen. Wherefore 
we offer to thee, O Lord, this tremendous and un- 
bloody sacrifice, for thy holy places which thou hast 
enlightened by the manifestation of Christ thy Son,' 
&c. (fee. 

Liturgy of Alexandria (called also the Liturgy 
of St Mark). * Send down upon us, and upon this 
bread and this chalice, thy Holy Spirit, that he may 
sanctify and consecrate them, as God Almighty, and 
make the bread indeed the body, and the chalice the 
blood of the new testament oj the very Lord God 
and Saviour, and our Sovereign King, Jesus Christ,' 
&c. (fee. 

Roman Liturgy (called also the Liturgy of St | 
Peter). ' We beseech thee, O God, to cause that 
this oblation may be, in ail things, blessed, admitted, 
ratified, reasonable, and acceptable, that it may be- 
come for us the body and blood of thy beloved Son, 
our Lord Jesus Christ.'* 

"Liturgy of Constantinople. 'Bless, O Lord, the 
holy bread, make indeed this bread the precious body 

* Travels^ vol. i. p. 176. A passage follows the above 
which I do not well understand how to class, whether as if 
taken from the old liturgy or supplied by the author of 
** The Travels.^' It is, ** At the communion, bowing down 
in sentiments of profound adoration, and humbly address- 
ing himself to Jesus Christ, then present in his hand, he 
says, thrice, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst 
enter under my roof, but say only the word, and my soul 
shall be healed." I have not been able to discover any au- 
thority for the passage. In the Canon of the Mass, it is 
said that the priest shall beat his breast, and repeat the 
words, "Lord, I am not worthy," &c. ; but, as to address- 
ing himself to Jesus Christ, then present in his hand," 
unless he condescend to name his author, I apprehend we 
must be contented to regard it as the rubric of the Tra- 
veller. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



101 



of thy Christ, Bless, O Lord, the holy chalice, and 
what is in this chalice, the precious blood of thy 
Christ, changing by the Holy Spirit,^ " 

Such are the fragments which the Traveller," 
with a degree of skill, denoting rather the subtlety of 
a practised controversialist than the intuition of early 
genius, and, with an economy to whose counsels 
young authors seldom listen, has taken from the 
passages in which their meaning is fully shown, and 
presented as testimonies favourable to transubstan- 
tiation. I will not delay the reader by an inquiry 
into the character of the documents from which the 
extracts have been made, nor detain him by giving 
proofs of what, were our Traveller of more mature 
acquaintance with his subject, might be termed dis- 
ingenuousness. He who would understand the in- 
struction to be derived from liturgies (and it well de- 
serves to be understood) ought not to be satisfied 
with the brief notice they could obtain here, and can 
have his laudable curiosity encouraged and rewarded, 
by an unprejudiced study of a recent and most valua- 
ble work, " On the antiquities of the English Ritual 
and Primitive Liturgies."* To that elaborate and 

* Origines Liturg-icse, by the llev William Palmer — -a 
work intended and calculated to have permanence — evi- 
dently composed by one in whom the love of antiquity is 
second only to his love of truth, and in whom the union of 
uncompromising attachment to his principles, with the tem- 
perance which befits a witness of Christian doctrine, recalls 
to the mind (what modern times would cause almost to be 
forgotten) the distinction between moderation and indiffer- 
ence. The Origines liiturgicse have no place for those 
compendious processes which serve well for a temporary 
purpose, and are often valued because they promise relief 
from the labour of thinking. Mr Palmer has examined all 
parts of his subject, the minute, as well as the greater and 
more prominent, with a degree of attention which the su- 
perficial cannot understand, but for which all who are capa- 
I 2 



102 



GUIDE TO AN 



able production I willingly refer, and, for myself, 
undertake the humbler office of simply reminding 
my reader, that, receiving the extracts jfrom ancient 
liturgies exactly as the Traveller has presented them 
before us, with those typographical distinctions by 
which he would direct notice to what he esteems 
most important for the purpose he has in view, no- 
thing appears by which the doctrine of the Church 
of Rome is countenanced, and very clear indications 
are afforded, that, even by these chosen passages of 
chosen liturgies, her peculiar tenets are discredited. 

The doctrine of transubstantiation teaches that the 
substance of the elements departs, and the substance 
of the Lord's body is produced in place of it; and 
that, with the body, by concomitance, the blood, and 
the soul, and the divinity of the Saviour are, of ne- 
cessity, connected. If the liturgies of ancient times 
were compiled by those, and for those, who believed 
in a doctrine like this, should we not expect to find 
conformity between the belief and the prayers of 
consecration ? What the priest and the people ex- 
pected was, that the substance of the elements should 
depart, and that, into their place, the substance of the 
body of our Lord, the second person in the blessed 
Trinity, should descend. Is there any thing like this 
in the extracts by which the Irish Gentleman would 
prove his position? No. There is a prayer that the 
Holy Spirit, the third person in the Tiinity, would 
come down, and, by resting on the elements, make 
the bread the body of Christ, and the wine his blood 
— a prayer conformable to a belief which has been 
entertained by some divines of Protestant commu- 

ble of comprehending" how much the conclusion of a long 
and varied course of reasoning" may depend on the accuracy 
with which seemingly small matters are ascertained, will 
feel deep gratitude. 



iERISH GENTLEMAN* 



103 



nions, in a spiritual presence, but altogether at vari- 
ance with the doctrine which, under pain of anathe- 
ma, the Church of Rome commands to be accepted. 
I would propose to any member of that Church, to 
ask himself, or to inquire of those who are competent 
to instruct him, what was the wisdom of framing 
prayers so directly opposed to the object for which 
they were designed, or, at least, so widely estranged 
from it? Will any reflecting man seriously affirm, 
that it is by such petitions, spoken in the literal sense 
of the terms, he implores that the bread and wine 
shall depart (on which, verhally, he prays that the 
spirit of blessing may descend), and the substance 
(which has not been named in the petition) of the 
Lord's body shall assume the place of the departed 
elements ? If the literal sense" can permit such 
licentiousness of interpretation, all reasoning is at an 
end ; language has undergone a change, by which it 
ceases to be an instrument of thought, and the ques- 
tion of doctrine would not even be simplified by an 
admission that the words of our Lord, " This is my 
body," were literal. Yet the champion of the Church 
of Rome has no resource — if he deny what would be 
tantamount to affirming that figurative" and "lite- 
ral" are the same — but to assert, that the early litur- 
gies are too figurative to be adduced, or to confess 
that they bear testimony against transubstantiation. 

An extensive survey of ancient liturgies will exhi- 
bit very abundant proofs, that none who held the doc- 
trine of modern Rome assisted in their compilation. 
But perhaps for the present purpose it will be suffi- 
cient to adduce a single testimony, inasmuch as it 
shall be borne by the " Canon of the Mass," as in 
use at the present day^ and in our own country. The 
prayer of consecration, the only one in which the 
conversion of the elements is implored, is as follows 
« — ''Vouchsafe, we beseech thee, O God, to make 



104 



GUIDK TO AN 



this offering in Till things blessed, approved, ratified, 
reasonable, and acceptable : that it may be made for 
us the body and blood* of thy most beloved Son, 
Jesus Christ." The v^ords of commemoration are 
next recited, as in the liturgy of Milan, inserting the 
words " the mystery of faith," but abstaining from 
the expressions with which the Milan commemora- 
tion terminates.t The following prayer is next 
offered — Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, 
as also thy holy people, being mindful both of 
the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son our 
Lord, and of his resurrection, and also of his glorious 
ascension into heaven, offer unto thy most excellent 
Majesty, of thy gifts bestowed upon us, a pure host, 
an immaculate host, the holy bread of eternal life, 
and the chalice of everlasting salvation. Upon which 
vouchsafe to look with propitious and serene counte- 
nance, and to accept them, as thou wert pleased 
graciously to accept the gifts of thy just servant, 
Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch, Abraham, 

* The reader is not to be surprised at such expressions, 
or to imag"ine that they countenance the notion of such a 
change as transubstantiation implies. It should be remem- 
bered that many of the ancient Fathers explained the terms, 
alleging* that signs were called by the names of the things 
they signified. The Council of Carthage, declaring what 
things should be offered, and confining them to bread and 
wine, says that only the "body and blood of the Lord 
should be used — that is, bread and wine mingled with 
water." Cone. Carth. Can. 40. Zonaras, p. 426. 

t They are these — ''Hsec quotiescunque feceritis, mor- 
tem meam prsedicabetis. Resurrectionem meam annuntia- 
bitis. Adventum meum sperabitis, donee iterum de cselis 
veniam ad vos." As often as you do these things, you shall 
proclaim my death, you shall announce my resurrection, you 
shall hope for my coming, until again I shall come to you 
from heaven. The canon now in use substitutes, " As often 
as ye do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of 
me." 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



105 



and that which thy high priest Melchisedek offered 
to thee, a holy sacrifice, and an immaculate host." 
Thus, after the consecration and change, God is im- 
plored to look with propitious and serene counte- 
nance on the offering, and to accept it graciously, as 
he had accepted the offerings of irrational or lifeless 
things, from man's hand. Can the idea of blasphemy 
proceed to a more daring excess than this, that a sin- 
ful man shall imagine himself an intercessor for our 
Lord Jesus Christ, imploring that God will vouch- 
safe to look upon Him with a benign countenance, 
and accept Him graciously, as he accepted the first- 
lings of Abers flock. It is not possible. Regarding 
the elements as signs of Christ's body and blood, the 
expressions are intelligible ; otherwise, adapted to the 
Trent decree, they serve only to denote the fatal con- 
sequences of a doctrine w hich contemplates the con- 
version of the Godhead into flesh, not the taking of 
the manhood into God." 

One word more upon this subject, and I have 
done. What I am about to write may serve to show 
how nature will assert her privileges and provide 
admitted substitutes in the place of an incredible 
dogma. I have, at this moment, lying before me, 
two books of prayer in use among my Roman 
Catholic countrymen. One is called the Poor Man's 
Manual, and the other, the Key of Paradise. One 
is published with the recommendatory notice. " Per- 
missu Superiorum," both appear to have found much 
favour, and both contain instructions and " short 
prayers at mass, necessary for the better understand- 
ing,^'' These devotional assistances are recom- 
mended in the " Key of Paradise," by the following 
preface: The sacrifice of the mass celebrated in 
memory of the passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, as 
he commandea his apostles, when giving them his 
body and blood, he said, do this in remembrance of 



106 



GUIDE TO AN 



me, that is, do this in memory of my passion, as if 
he would have said, remember that I suffered for 
your salvation ; let therefore this mystery be brought 
in use by you, for the good of you and yours." The 
prayers and instructions follow, and compel us to 
discern in the mass, a representation of the death 
and passion of our Lord, every incident in the type 
being designed to suggest the remembrance of some 
circumstance in the awful events it figured. Thus, 
when the priest begins the mass; Jesus enters the 
garden," and a prayer suitable to the remembrance is 
provided. Through all the ceremonies there is the 
same system of explanation continued, nor does the 
interpreter discontinue his ofhce when the solemnities 
are of the most awful significancy. At the unveil- 
ing of the chalice, Jesus is despoiled of his garments. 
At the covering of the chalice, Jesus is crowned 
with thorns." When the priest washeth his fingers, 
Pilate washeth his hands. When the priest holds his 
hands over the chalice, Veronica offers Jesus a towel. 
When the priest signs the oblation, Jesus is nailed 
to the cross. At the elevation of the host the cross 
is raised up." The prayers, in all these cases, are 
suggested by the incident in the passion, not by the 
representation on the altar ; that, at the raising up of 
the host, which furnishes a fair specimen of all, 
being — " Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be raised 
on the cross, and in that manner be exalted from the 
earth for my sake, raise me, I beseech thee, from all 
earthly affections, that my soul may always live in 
heaven." In one of these books of prayer, the in- 
structions are accompanied by engravings, in each 
of which, as in Raphael's Transfiguration, a two-fold 
action is represented. The chapel, with its lights 
and altar, officiating priest and his juvenile acolytes, 
occupies the lower space, a screen of clouds sepa- 
rates this from the upper part of the engraving, where 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



the incident represented below, is, not very grace- 
fully, but, with the aid of the title, intelligibly, deli- 
neated. It is carefully contrived, that, wherever 
circumstances admit, the eyes of the priest shall have 
an upward direction, as if he were guiding the peo- 
ple where their thoughts should be lifted. In some 
instances, indeed, this is unnecessary, as, for exam- 
ple, where the enormous size of the scourge and lash 
and the fury of the executioners, or where, with 
weighty hammers and cruel blows, the hands of 
Jesus are in the act of being nailed to the tree, sug- 
gest with much more painful vehemence than the tran- 
quil representation below, the remembrance which 
ought to be cherished. But the fact is, that, even in 
lifting the host and the chalice, so far from observing 
the directions which the Traveller bountifully added 
(at least without naming the giver) to the liturgy of 
Rome, the pictured priest has his eye piercing the 
clouds, and seems as if he listened for the sounds of 
the cruel blows that were impiously inflicted above. 
"What does all this mean? If the mass be a repre- 
sentation of the passion of Christ, it seems reason- 
able to direct the thoughts and heart to the great 
things commemorated. If the Lord Jesus, in the 
body, come down to present himself on the altar, it 
is indignity to him to have the minds of the congre- 
gation set on any thing but the miracle of divine 
condescension then wrought for their benefit. I con- 
clude, therefore, that, whatever be the doctrine which 
Eome holds, she acts as if she regarded the mass, 
as, in some sort, a dramatic representation of Christ's 
suffering for our sins ; and as if to serve the purpose 
of such a representation were its principal end and 
object. 



108 



GUIDE TO AN 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Scripture — Cyril of Jerusalem — Sixth Chapter of St John 
— 1 Epistle to Corinthians, c. 11. 

Among the divines, by whose writings the Irish Gen- 
tleman hoped to be guided on his way, none appears 
to have afforded him more satisfaction than Cyril of 
Jerusalem. And yet, it may be said with truth, Cyril 
left behind him one counsel, which the traveller dis- 
regarded, of far greater excellence than any to which 
he gave attention. " Respecting the divine and holy 
sacraments of faith," he says, " nothing, not even 
the most minute, should be delivered without the au- 
thority of the Divine Scriptures, nor should they be 
traced out by simple probability or by ornamented 
language. Nor should you yield your faith to me 
proposing these things to you, unless you receive 
from the Divine Scriptures, demonstration of what I 
say ; for the safety and preservation of our faith is not 
eloquence of speech but approval of the Holy Scrip- 
tures."* It would be easy to pardon, even had he 
erred in his instructions as widely as the Traveller 
represents, and far more widely than he has really 
strayed, one who could so fully and honestly set up 
the standard by which his mistakes can be corrected. 

The Irish Gentleman was so little influenced by 
the advice, or even by the example, of Cyril, whose 
writings frequently are nothing more than scriptural 
passages connected together, that in the seven hun- 
dred pages of his work, it is probable, ten are not 



* Cat. Myst. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



109 



dedicated to the Holy Scriptures. It ought to have 
approved itself to his mind, that, if he desired to learn 
the religion which God had taught, he should have 
sought it in the book vv^hich He had commanded to 
be written for our learning. 

" The awful announcement then made (in the dis- 
course of our Lord, St John vi.) of the miraculous 
feast about to be instituted, followed up, as it was, on 
the solemn night of the institution, by those simple 
and irrefragable words, ' This is my body,' form the 
grounds of that implicit Catholic belief which the 
Church " has, at all times, maintained."* Here is 
the candour of an ingenuous young man. He rests 
his dependance upon Scripture. Whatever men may 
have said, if they spake not according to that good 
book, they were nothing. 

" He transferred them to another banquet — a ban- 
quet most tremendous, saying. Take eat, this is my 
body. How was it that they were not struck with 
terror when they heard this ? Because he had pre- 
viously discoursed with them at large on the sub- 
ject."t This passage is quoted from Chrysostomto 
prove that, at an early age, the sixth chapter of St 
John's gospel was regarded as containing, in our 
blessed Saviour's discourse, a preparation for the 
sacrament which he afterwards instituted. I should 
not be disposed to contest the matter, even if the au- 
thority of Chrysostom, or any other eminent indivi- 
dual, had not been brought forward to influence its 
decision. The command of our Lord to eat his 
flesh and drink his blood must have appeared awful 
to any hearers of slow imagination and meanly in- 
structed. It must have still more affrighted the apos- 
tles, whose religious sentiments taught them to regard 
with abhorrence the tasting of blood, to account in- 



* Travels, vol. i. p. 225. 
K 



t Ibid. 



110 



GUIDE TO AN 



deed a breach of the commandment by which it was 
prohibited, an offence deserving of death. 

The sentiments of the apostles, or rather the dis- 
cipline from which they imbibed them, should be 
somewhat more fully considered. They were straitly 
prohibited from tasting blood — they were taught that 
the penalty of violating the precept was death — and 
they were instructed also in the reason why such a 
command was given. In every particular, the com- 
mand of the Lord Jesus was directly opposed to that 
in the fear of which they had been brought up. The 
law forbade them to taste flesh with the life thereof 
which is the blood.* The Lord commanded them 
to eat flesh and to drink blood. The law declared, 
the soul that tasteth blood shall clieA The Lord 
Jesus commanded them to eat and drink that they 
might live ; declaring that except they eat of his flesh 
and drink of his blood they must die. The law de- 
clared that the reason why they should not dare to 
taste blood — why they must perish if they transgress- 
ed, was because it was given to make atonement for 
the remission of their sins.l The Jjord assigned, as 
the precise reason, why they must eat and drink, 
that which the law gave for their abstaining, "for it 
is shed for you and for many for the remission of 
sins." Thus, it is impossible to imagine a more de- 
cided opposition than prevailed between the instruc- 
tions of the law, wherein they had been brought up, 
and the precept of their master ; and this was exhibit- 
ed to men who attached equal importance to the 
ceremonial precept respecting blood as they did to 
moral enactments, and by him who declared, that he 
came not to destroy the law but to fulfil. It seems 
to me, therefore, very natural, to imagine that, had 

* Gen. ix. 4. f Lev. xvii. 10. passim, 

X Lev. xvii. IL 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



Ill 



the apostles been unprepared for the institution of 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, they would have 
testified their amazement ; and 1 look upon the dis- 
course in the sixth chapter of St John's gospel, as 
having disposed them to receive their master's words 
without horror or opposition. 

There were three modes by either of which the 
minds of the Apostles could be prepared to afford a 
quiet submission to a precept which seemed adverse 
to their law — ^by becoming convinced that, in its lite- 
ral sense, the new commandment did not repeal the 
old, or that it was enacted by competent authority, 
or else that it was to be figuratively or spiritually 
understood. That the command to drink the blood 
of Christ, literally interpreted, was opposed to the 
Jewish law, cannot admit a question — doubly op- 
posed — -to the positive precept, and to the reason for 
which such a precept was given. That they did not 
hold the law relating to blood abolished is clear also. 
It is proved that the distinction of clean and unclean 
remained in Peter's mind, from the vision in which 
the Lord reproved him ; and it is clear, that the 
apostles who continued, in their assembly at Jeru- 
salem, the prohibition against tasting blood, could 
not have supposed it abolished. Let us see, then, 
whether an unprejudiced man would be inclined to 
think the third explanation reasonable, and to inter- 
pret our Lord's discourse in a figurative or spiritual, 
rather than in a literal acceptation. 

Two passages in this most important discourse 
should be placed in juxta-position. They are those 
which contemplate belief, and the eating the flesh of 
the Lord, and drinking his blood. 

ST. JOHX YI. ST. JOUX TI. 

40 And this is the will of 54 Whoso esteth my flesh 
him that sent me, that every and drinketh my blood, hath 



112 GUIDE TO AN 



one which seeth the Son, and 
believeth on him, may liave 
everlasting" life, and I will 
raise him up at the last day. 

47 Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, he that believeth 
on me hath everlasting" life. 

Here it is distinctly 
said, that life and the re- 
surrection are bestowed 
upon every one who be- 
lieves in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 



eternal life, and 1 will raise 
him up at the last day. 

53 Except ye eat the flesh 
of the Son of Man, and drink 
his blood, ye have no life in 
you. 

Here it is said, that 
those who eat of the flesh 
of the Son of Man, and 
drink his blood, and none 
other, shall have life and 
the resurrection. 



Unless we go the length of saying, that, in one 
part of his discourse, our Lord would revoke a pro- 
mise which he had most distinctly given in another, 
we must admit that, in the above passages of Scrip- 
ture, there is not opposition. A brief survey of the 
discourse, and the circumstances in which it was 
spoken, will render their perfect correspondence in 
spirit and expression more plainly evident. 

A multitude, who had followed our blessed Saviour 
into his retirement, were miraculously fed, in a place 
where, without miracle, food could not be procured. 
Availing himself of the opportunity to recommend 
good counsel, as his custom was, he magnified the 
blessedness of partaking of that heavenly food which 
contains the gift of immortality, and declared that he 
was, himself, the bread of life which came down from 
heaven. From the thirty-second to the fortieth verse, 
inclusive, this truth is taught, that Christ was the 
bread which came from heaven — and bestowed im- 
mortal life, and that belief in him was the means 
through which the benefit and blessing were impart- 
ed. Thus far, the expression eat or drink is not 
found. To believe in him — to come unto him — are 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



113 



the expressions with which the promise of life is con- 
nected. So far, the hearers of our Lord appear to 
have understood that he spoke in a figure, for their 
amazement was not at his calling himself bread, but 
at his declaring that he had come down from heaven. 

The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, 
I am the bread which came down from heaven. And 
they said, is not this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose 
father and mother we know? How is it then, that 
he saith, I came down from heaven It was not 
the purpose of our blessed Lord to indulge the worldly- 
spirit in which doubts of this nature were proposed. 
He re-asserted his former expression, enforcing the 
necessity, and setting forth the advantage, of believ- 
ing in him, and, as his discourse advanced, employed 
more forcible expressions, until what he had gene- 
rally named as bread at the commencement of his ad- 
dress, he declared, more explicitly, to be his flesh. 

The bread which I will give is my flesh, which I 
will give for the life of the world. "t 

A new subject of astonishment was now before the 
multitude. When Jesus declared himself to be bread, 
they appeared capable of understanding how such an 
expression could be received, and were perplexed 
only in the endeavour to reconcile his descent from 
heaven with the humility of his condition. But 
when, instead of gratifying their curiosity, the Lord 
re-asserted, in still more forcible terms, what he had 
already declared, and taught that the bread which he 
should ofler was his flesh, which he would give for 
the life of the world, the perplexity of his hearers 
increased, a new cause of amazement superadding 
horror, and it may be disgust, to the difliculty by 
which they had previously been embarrassed. The 



* St John c. vi. v. 41, 42. 
K 2 



j-lbid. V. 51. 



114 



GUIDE TO AN 



difficulty and the horror prevailed, and many of his 
disciples went back, and walked no more with him." 

At that time, there were standing near our Lord, 
some to whom he had given the privilege, that, while 
others were addressed in parables, they should be 
taught to know the mysteries of the kingdom of 
God.* An occasion now offered itself, on which 
they were justified in hoping that this their high pri- 
vilege would not be denied them. They had, on a 
former occasion, directly solicited the Lord to explain 
what they could not understand ; but, having received 
his promise, they could now await, with dutiful pa- 
tience, its fulfilment. Nor was it long delayed. " It 
is the spirit that quickeneth — the flesh profiteth no- 
thing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, 
and they are life." Thus he spoke, after having pre- 
viously expressed himself in a manner v/hich in- 
creased the difficulty of understanding his original 
declaration. Doth this offend you ? What and if 
ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was 
before." Having by this question suggested to their 
minds the natural impossibility of fulfilling literally 
that part of his discourse v\^hich had occasioned alarm, 
he declares that the flesh profiteth nothing, that the 
spirit quickeneth, and that the words he spoke were 
spirit and were life — thus, it is reasonable to con- 
clude, giving to all the preceding portion of his ad- 
dress, a figurative and spiritual interpretation. 

There are some controversialists in the service of 
the Church of Rome, so resolute, that they dispute 
this conclusion, and, by the simple expedient of in- 
sisting that our Lord's explanation must be figura- 
tively understood, transfer to the parable which was 
to be explained, the more direct authority of the 
"letter." Thus, they say, flesh profiteth nothing"t 



* St Luke, viii — x. 



t St John, vi. 63. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



115 



means no more than tliat it is worthless, if separated 
from spirit — that it was not, as the Jews may have ima- 
gined, to be eaten in a fleshly form, or (in the words 
of various polemics) as flesh from the shambles,"— 
but that the benefit of true participation of Christ's 
substantial flesh is taught in the former part of the 
discourse, and is not rescinded Iiere. Let it be 
borne in mind, that no one of the limitations and 
conditions by which this reconciliation is said to be 
effected, is found in the words of Christ, or deducible 
from them. He does not say, that it is only under 
certain circumstances his flesh is profitless. Having 
previously said, that they must eat his flesh — -he 
teaches them, that literally to comply with the pre- 
cept would be impossible, because he shall in the 
4)ody be withdrawn — and unnecessary, because " the 
flesh profiteth nothing ;" words which could not, 
with propriety, be spoken, if, under any circum- 
stances, literally to eat of his flesh and drink of his 
blood could be profitable. 

Let any who hesitate still, reflect for a moment 
what they would say, if a passage equally clear were 
to be adduced, in which the advantages of believing 
were denied. Imagine a passage like the following 
to be found in scripture—** Does it offend you that 
eternal life was promised to those who believe in 
Christ? What and if ye shall see Christ himself 
put to an ignominious death — ^belief profiteth nothing. 
It is the body of the Lord given in the eucharist by 
which souls are saved." Would he be accounted of 
sane mind who should attempt to vindicate the effi- 
cacy of faith, or to reconcile the expressions, ** He 
that believeth in me shall live — belief profiteth no- 
thing" — by any such contrivances as have been 
adopted by Romish controversialists ? No disputants 
would more triumphantly expose the disingenuous- 
ness of such a procedure than those who strive now 



116 GUIDE TO AN 

to procure respect for it. But there is no expression 
by which the promise given to faith is invalidated. 
On the contrary, one sentence, the concluding one 
of this part of the address, But there are some of 
you that believe not,"* constrains us to feel that the 
importance of faith, as the means whereby life is 
imparted, is never lost sight of through our blessed 
Saviour's discourse. 

It is not to be denied that such expressions as to 
eat the flesh of our Lord have been, by some writeis, 
accounted too forcible to represent merely a partici- 
pation by faith ; and that adversaries of the Church 
of England, have spoken with much boldness, when 
challenging her ministers to show why terms which 
are, literally, so different in signification, shall be 
employed to denote the same idea. To understand 
the propriety of employing language so very forcible, 
it should be recollected that the doctrine which the 
apostles were to preach, was one the least likely to 
originate in the human mind, (because it is indeed 
the most opposed to the besetting evil of man's na- 
ture), and when fully made knovv^n and understood, 
the most likely to be effectual ; the doctrine of justi= 
fication by faith. The occasion, on which our Lord 
spoke, furnishes proofs that it was a doctrine w^hich, 
to be guarded from abuse, must be very strongly 
enunciated. A multitude had followed, not because 
they saw the miracles, but because they did eat of 
the loaves and were filled." Among them were 
many who would " take him by force and make him 
a king," exposing themselves to all the hazards of 
acting as well as speaking against Caesar. These 
people, surely, would profess belief in him. They 
would encounter for his sake, extremity of peril, and 
they would raise him to the throne of Israel. Had 



St John, vi. 64. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



117 



eternal life been promised simply to belief, all, of the 
character of these men, would have said to their souls 
" take your rest," the lifting up of the cross might 
be a summons to arouse, instead of subduing, all 
the evil passions by w^hich Christ would be dis- 
honoured, and those who yielded assent to the truth 
of the gospel history, who did not dispute the divi- 
nity of Christ, or doubt of his atonement, would say 
they believed, although they had, in no respect, 
imbibed the spirit of his example, or been crucified 
to the world in his death. It was necessary to 
designate the momentous truth which Jesus revealed 
by some more solemn character than that of a word 
which, having been applied to profane and trivial 
uses in life, was liable to the peril of misinterpreta- 
tion. The belief, to which a promise was given, was 
not to be the mere reliance of soldiers on their chief, 
but to be an humbling and purifying trust in a Sa- 
viour. 

Self deception is not so practicable when a man 
proposes to himself the question — can I be said to eat 
tlie flesh of Christ and drink his blood — as when he 
demands — do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The Jews listened w^ith patience to our Lord's as- 
surances respecting belief in him. They doubted 
only when he spoke of descending from heaven, 
but, in all probability, received with much compla- 
cency the promises annexed to faith. When he re- 
presented belief, however, under that very striking 
figure, in which, members of the Church of Rome 
should recollect, Augustine discerned a precept *'to 
communicate in the passion of the Lord, and with 
delight and profit to lay up in our memories, that his 
flesh was wounded and crucified for our sakes," and 
in which even those not prepared for such instruc- 
tion, might have discerned the recommendation of a 
principle which should influence the heart by love, 



118 



GUIDE TO AN 



they mnrmured among themselves saying, how can 
this man give us his flesh to eat. According to the 
characters of men, difl'erent reasons maybe assigned 
why they cannot understand religious truth conveyed 
in figurative language. In some, the difliculty may 
arise from slowness of the imagination ; in some it 
may proceed from the torpor of their spiritual affec- 
tions. The apostles were disturbed because of the 
former of these reasons ; the general multitude for 
both. Where spiritual faculties have been unexer- 
cised, all communications of knowledge are referred 
to a principle which arrogantly rejects what it is in- 
capable of comprehending ; but, where feelings be- 
longing to a better nature have been, however faintly, 
experienced, they dispose the mind to believe that 
truth may be contained in expressions which, because 
of the defects of intellect or education, are not tho- 
roughly understood, but which their author, in his 
own good time, will satisfactorily elucidate. The 
character of the individuals, w^hom our Lord address- 
ed, may be seen in the manner in which they receiv- 
ed his declarations. Some departed and walked no 
more with him when they heard what their carnal 
nature could not understand. Some remained, and, 
when the explanation was vouchsafed, which their 
own faculties could not supply, were prepared by the 
consciousness within them to acknowledge that their 
master's precept was holy and true. Such is the 
inference we should, of ourselves, have drawn ; but 
the Scriptures have not left a truth of such moment 
to inference. They teach us what was the accepta- 
tion in which the apostles received the Lord's in- 
structions. They teach us, also, how differently they 
understood the declaration that " the flesh profiteth 
nothing," from that vague sense by which, in modern 
times, its force has been evaded ; when they declared, 
that they remained with Christ, not assigning as the 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



119 



reason for their decision, that he was to give them 
his flesh or the substance of his flesh, but, because, 
he possessed what he had previously taught them to 
value, the words of everlasting life." 

The expressions, to eat and drink, have been ac- 
counted too gross to represent or figure spiritual ope- 
rations ; but not by those who have felt what it is to 
have all the faculties of the soul fixed upon the thought 
of Christ and his passion. Even for such as have 
not this testimony, the Scriptures have provided, as 
there had previously been provided, because of other 
wants, for the apostles, assurance to the contrary. 

I have meat to eat that ye know not of, said the 
Lord." My meat is to do the will of my Father 
which is in heaven.* When our Saviour spoke these 
words, his apostles at first imagined, that they de- 
noted bodily sustenance, but when the second ex- 
pression explained the sense in which the former 
should be received, they understood how spiritual 
things might be designated by words which, literally, 
denoted what was bodily, and they were thus pre- 
pared to understand the figure which Christ after- 
wards explained to them. 

Therefore, when, in the same night that he was 
betrayed," the Lord instituted the holy sacrament, 
no murmurs or questions arose respecting the new 
commandment. Peter, who, when Christ spoke of 
his death, rebuked him, saying, be it far from thee 
Lord, who withstood the voice from heaven, direct- 
ing him to slay and eat- — was now silent, although 
ordered to infringe one of the most solemn enact- 
ments of the law. James v/as silent, who gave his 
council at the assembly in Jerusalem that the people 
should abstain from blood. Thomas, who declared 
that he would not believe in the resurrection of Christ 



* St John, iv. 32—34. 



120 



GUIDE TO AN 



from the dead, unless he saw the print of the wounds 
in his hands and feet, and whom the Lord Jesus 
eondescended to satisfy, for his and our certainty, 
by the proof he demanded ; (although the Church of 
Eome would have us imagine that the disciple who 
w^ould not believe in Christ's risen body, unless his 
senses were thus convinced, believed nevertheless 
that he had the power to produce at his ov/n word 
that very body and enclose it in a wafer,) Thomas — 
the incredulous Thomas — was silent; and disciples 
who looked upon the tasting of blood as the merit- 
ing death, all drank of the cup which Jesus offered 
to them. If they believed that the precept was figu- 
rative, that it denoted a spiritual participation, all is 
natural and consistent. If they thought the words 
literal, their obedience and the manner of it surpasses 
comprehension. 

It would be very easy to shov/, by abundant 
proofs from Scripture, that the apostles had not, and 
could not have had any notion at all analogous to 
that which the Church of Rome holds respecting 
the presence of Christ in his sacrament. Of this 
the reader can satisfy himself by considering the 
expectations the disciples were taught to entertain 
of their blessed Master's second coming in the body, 
which they were always encouraged to believe should 
be visible and glorious, his humiliation having ended 
with the death upon the cross. "This same Jesus 
shall so come again in like manner as ye have seen 
him go into heaven." " As the lightning that light- 
eneth from the one part under heaven," &c. If 
they say he is in the secret chambers" (the wafer is 
a very secret chamber) " go not forth," &c. and 
numberless expressions to the same effect teach us 
how the disciples looked for the coming of their 
divine master. I shall not dwell upon them, nor 
enlarge an enumeration of passages with which 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. _ 121 

every reader is supposed to be acquainted, and which 
he will find aptly corresponding with the doctrine of 
the three Creeds. I shall perhaps be more profitably 
occupied in offering a few remarks on a portion of 
St Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, from which 
other defenders of the Church of Rome, as well as 
the Irish Gentleman, have imagined that their cause 
could gain succour. 

In the remonstrance which the Apostle addressed 
to the Corinthian Churches, on the irreverence with 
which some of their members attended at the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper, the following expression 
is found — " For he that eateth and drinketh unwor- 
thily, eateth and drinketh condemnation to himself, 
not discerning the LorcVs body,^^* On these con- 
cluding words an argument is reared up, to which 
for the reasons which always make small things of 
consequence, importance is attached. How, it is 
asked, could men discern a body which was not 
there 1 We might content ourselves with asking, in 
reply — does the Church of Rome maintain that the 
body, which she says, is in the sacrament, can be 
discerned? Should she say, as has been said, it can 
be discerned by the eye of faith — she is speaking 
altogether a figurative language, and, by her own 
example, authorizing us to understand figuratively 
the terms on which her argument has been founded. 
But the passage supplies us with a better answer 
and a fuller explanation. The Apostle answers the 
question which the controversialist proposes, and in 
a manner which renders further reply unnecessary. 
Let the reader compare the words which have been 
supposed to justify or countenance the Romish doc- 
trine with the verses immediately preceding — from 



♦ 1 Cor. xi. 29. 

L 



122 



GUIDE TO AN 



the twenty-fifth, inclusive, in the same chapter — and 
say whether further explanation is required. The 
twenty-fifth is, " For as often as ye eat this bread 
and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord^s death till 
he come,^^ This is followed by ''Wherefore, who- 
soever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the 
Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and 
blood of the Lord."* The guilt of insult to the body 
and blood of the Lord is made known in the preced- 
ing verse, as the word, vrhich connects the two verses, 
renders evident. The offence against the Lord's 
body and blood is unworthily communicating in the 
sacrament which " shows the Lord^s death,'''' When 
the nature of the offence is further indicated in the 
twenty-ninth verse, under the terms '' not discerning 
the Lord's body," can any doubt remain on the mind, 
that these words also are to be referred to the verse 
in which the object of the sacrament is explained. 
The sacrament shows the Lord's death, being a sym- 
bol of his body. The unworthy communicant thinks 
not (it is to be remembered that the Roman Church 
does not, more than Protestant communions, account 
"discerning" to denote vision of the senses), as his 
irreverence testifies, of that body or death which he 
professes to commemorate, and he is, accordingly, 
guilty of profanation. 

And now that I have endeavoured to answer the 
question which advocates of the Church of Rome 
propose, may I be permitted to ask a question in 
return. The Apostle says, ''As often," &c. "ye 
do show the Lord's death till he come.'^^ What is 

* 1 Cor. V. 27, It is said that the authorized version en s 
in using " and. " The argument is not affected by a deci- 
sion in favour of "or." Clemens Alex, quotes the passage 
as in our vesionj "and." Lib. Strom. 2. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



123 



the meaning of these three words ? Will an inge- 
nuous and reflecting adversary dispute the proof they 
afford, that while sacraments continue to show forth 
his death, Christ in the body has not come, 

A second question. The Corinthians are accused 
of irreverence in their mode of celebrating the Holy 
Communion. For in eating every one taketh be- 
fore other, his own supper, and one is hungry and 
anothpr is drunken. What? have ye not houses to 
eat and to drink in? or despise ye the Church of 
God, and shame them that have not?" Can any 
reflecting man believe that such irreverence accom- 
panied adoration of the host? I have heard a ques- 
tion, how it could have come to pass, that the Co- 
rinthian converts behaved with irreverence towards 
the Lord's body? Various answers may be given; 
but if it be demanded whether any good was secured 
by such indecorum, we may answer, Yes — it leaves 
upon record an irrefragable testimony against that 
foulest doctrine, which, in the absence, v/e may say, 
of the light of Scripture, an enemy sowed in the 
Lord's vineyard.* 

* Johnson's Unbloody Sacrifice is often quoted in the 
Travels, and his authority is called in, as if it favoured the 
doctrine of the Church of Rome. To do Mr Johnson just- 
ice, it is but fair to say, that he arg-ued most strenuously 
against transubstantiation ; and in justice to the Church of 
which he was a member, it must be said, that he should 
never be adduced to bear witness to her doctrine. One 
circumstance will be sufficient to show how little he could 
be relied on, and how far the passion of theory carried 
him from truth. He translates 1 Tim. vi. 12, **Thou hast 
made the good oblation.*' Where could an author fail 
to discover arguments in his favour who could find in 

o/AOKoyixv'' an oblation." 



124 



GUIDE TO AN 



CHAPTER IX. 



Transubstantlation compared with our Lord's Incarnation — 
the Trinity — Church of Rome cruel. 

It is not my intention to enter upon any exposition 
or defence of the great and mysterious doctrine of 
the Trinity, but it may not be inexpedient to show 
how little justification is afforded for the efforts which 
have often been made to confound it with the doc- 
trine of the corporeal presence. Our Traveller as- 
signs various reasons why both must share the same 
fate, having the common protection of the same 
champions, and equally exposed to danger of rejec- 
tion. The vv^itnesses for the Trinity, testify also, 
he says, with equal clearness, in favour of transub- 
stantlation; the influence of "the Secret" spreads 
like mystery over each, and whatever objections the 
reason of educated men can advance against the truth 
of one, will be found, with precisely the same force, 
to take effect upon the other. 

In all these particulars there is great and almost 
unaccountable error. Although Protestants are dis- 
posed to set little value upon any testimony which 
is not in accordance with Scripture, yet have they 
carefully collected confessions of early Christian 
authors, that they believed, in the great doctrines of 
the Trinity and the Incarnation, and thus have left 
but little excuse to those who argue as if such evi- 
dences do not exist. To do our Traveller justice, 
however, he does not deny that they have been 
offered; he merely insists, that the same witnesses 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



125 



have testified in favour of transubstantiation. The 
reader will judge whether the latter part of this as- 
sertion is correct; and when he has seen, as I trust 
he has, that the witnesses of early days are vindi- 
cated from the charge of testifying to a doctrine of 
which they had no knowledge, he will allow their 
evidence to retain Vv^hatever authority it possessed, 
when delivered on a truth which revelation had made 
known to them. 

The discipline of the secret by which, it is said, 
the witnesses of the Catholic or Trinitarian doctrine 
were influenced, has furnished another opportunity 
to connect that great fundamental article of a Chris- 
tian's creed with the Eoman Catholic dogma respect- 
ing the eucharist. The reader will judge with what 
justice, when he remembers that it had not indis- 
posed the world for testifying faith in the words of 
those three great formularies which, until the Council 
of Trent added to them, might have been regarded as 
declaring the belief of the entire Church ; nor had it 
allowed the minds of men to be pre-occupied against 
the decrees of the first four councils, in which the 
articles of the creeds were promulgated with autho- 
rity. The agreement thus early manifested in the 
Christian world, renders the argument from " the 
secret" quite inapplicable. Independently of the 
proof afforded, where only it could be conclusive, in 
the Scripture ; the testimonies of the early Fathers, 
of liturgies, of creeds, of councils, are adduced to 
prove the faith of primitive times in the doctrine of 
the Trinity, and may be adduced to prove also, that 
the faith of these times did not comprise belief in 
transubstantiation. Why then should doctrines so 
differently attested be represented as dependent for 
their proof on similar assurances. 

But, however industrious our Traveller appears in 
L 2 



126 



GUIDE TO AN 



his endeavours to impeach the evidence of Christian 
doctrine, by shovi^ing that falsehood also has had its 
support, he seems to have been incited to his princi- 
pal effort, by a more pernicious council than would 
advise only the disparagement of human testimony. 
Supposing him to have succeeded in setting aside all 
the witnesses who spoke since the canon of Scrip- 
ture was arranged, he would have done the cause of 
Christian truth but little wrong ; but, if he made it 
evident that any ono doctrine revealed in Scripture 
is contradictory to human reason, he would have 
done religion an injury of such a nature as to be 
irreparable. It is a dreadful spirit which possesses 
the Church of Rome. If you do not receive her 
dogmas, her mode of persuasion is a curse, and her 
arguments unholy sophistry to shake your faith in 
God and his promises. Rather than see you receive 
the Gospel from other hands than hers, she would 
have it go to you discredited; and, in a spirit alien 
from the example of Jesus, and untaught by his 
* pathetic rebuke, her counsel to her teachers is, that 
they call the consuming fire from heaven, and, one 
might almost add, summon up the worst passions of 
earth and hell, to be avenged of any who will not 
receive them with that lowest prostration of the spirit 
when it renounces reason. 

In this evil disposition, she has constantly endea- 
voured to place truth in peril by connecting it in the 
minds of her votaries with doctrines against which, 
whenever their reason awakens, they feel disposed to 
remonstrate. Thus has she acted in her endeavours 
to defame the doctrine of the Trinity, and in the 
effort to prove that the incarnation of our Lord is no 
less contrary to reason than that dogma which she 
seems to guard as the spell on which her power and 
existence are dependant. Our Traveller appears 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



127 



rather too ready ; as the following passage will show, 
to counteance her in this method of desperate de- 
fence : 



" CONNEXION BETWEEN THE EUCHARIST AND THE 
MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATION. 

'^The difficulties, says the Rev Mr. Rutter, which Pro- 
testants alleg"e ag-ainst transubstantiation, are not greater 
than those which the Socinians may and do urge against 
the incarnation, as will appear from the following parallel : 



Protestants reject transub- 
stantiation. 

1. Because the senses 
judge the host to be mere 
bread. 

2. Because one body will 
be in two or more places. 

3. Because the same body 
will move and not move, be 
visible and not visible, mortal 
and immortal, passible awd 
impassible. 

4. Because Christ would 
be in the form of a wafer. 

5. Because Christ's body 
would be in a form opposite 
to human nature. 

6. Because Christ's body 
would be eaten by sinners. 

7. How can Christ's body 
be confined in the taber- 
nacle, and be also in heaven. 

8. Because it appears ab- 
surd to adore Christ in the 
Sacrament. " 



The Socinians may equally 
reject the incarnation. 

1. Because the senses 
judge Christ to be a mere 
man. 

2. Because one person 
will be in two natures. 

3. Because the same per- 
son will be both God and 
man, visible and not visible, 
mortal and immortal, pass- 
ible and impassible. 

4. Because an immense 
God would be in the form of 
a simple man. 

5. Because God would be 
in a form opposite to the di- 
vine nature. 

6. Because God would be 
crucified by sinners. 

7. How can Christ be con- 
fined in the womb of a vir- 
gin, and be also in heaven. 

8. Because it appears ab- 
surd to adore him who was 
born of a woman and after- 
wards crucified by man." 



128 



GUIDE TO AN 



I trust I may be pardoned for considering one or 
two of these articles somewhat more formally than 
their inherent merit seems to deserve; especially 
if my remarks are found applicable to more import- 
ant difficulties than those by which they are occa- 
sioned. 

The first objection both Protestant and Socinian 
(I adopt for the present, Mr Kutter's distinction) 
although in form one, in reality consists of two pro* 
positions, thus : 

1. Because the senses 1. Because the senses 

judge the host to be bread. judg-e Christ to be a man. 

This is the argument of To this Protestants may 

Protestants. assent. 

but, the second part of the proposition : 

The senses judge the Host Christ to be nothing hut 
to be nothing but bread. man. 

rests rather on Mr Rutter's authority, than on the 
support it is likely to obtain from either Protestant or 
Socinian. Protestants do not affirm from the testi- 
mony of the senses that the host is mere bread, or 
nothing but bread. They do not account the evi- 
dence of the senses worthy of respect in a case where 
they are not competent to judge. In fact, they will 
not admit, that whatsoever does not manifest itself to 
the senses, is thereby proved to have no existence, 
and therefore, in their argument from sense, they 
confine themselves to the assertion, that the bread is 
proved to have a real existence, against the decree of 
Trent, which asserts that the substance of bread has 
passed away. If there be Socinians who extend the 
argument further, and assume that the senses contra- 
dict the existence of that which they cannot discern, 
they may be indulged, without envy, in the credit of 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



129 



a very original but not very plausible sophism. 
Protestants, however, who account such reasoning 
foolishness, should not be charged with having em- 
ployed it. 

In the second Socinian objection, it can scarcely 
be imagined, that any who recognise two natures in 
the person of a man can be found to concur, whilst 
all will admit the absurdity of supposing body to fill, 
in the same instant of time, two places distinct and 
remote from each other. 

The 3d, 4th, 5th and 6th objections may be re- 
moved by the application of a principle which recog- 
nises the distinction between body and spirit. Ex- 
perience and reason testify to us, that the one is 
limited by conditions which, in no degree, circum- 
scribe the other. Spirit we know in thought ; body 
in its passive qualities ; reasonings respecting each, 
must, of course, differ as the nature to which the 
reasoning is applied. It is conceivable, that spirit 
may assume to itself forms varying to a degree of 
which body is not capable. God may set body free 
from the laws and conditions of its being, but then 
it would cease to be body. If it were asserted, that 
the spirit of the Lord Jesus had so united itself to 
matter as to make a wafer its body, the assertion 
would amaze all thinking men; but it is easy to 
judge, how greatly the difficulty of believing is in- 
creased, when it ts affirmed, that what was a wafer 
a moment since has vanished, and that what now 
occupies its very contracted space, is the body which 
suffered on the cross. The popular reply of Roman 
Catholics is, all things are possible with God. Yes, 
— He can do all things ; but when he causes the 
same body to be in the same instant of time, in Dub- 
lin and Madrid, he has freed it from the laws which 



130 



GUIDE TO AN 



affect material natures and rendered its being and 
presence spiritual. 

The sixth objection, which the Socinian is sup- 
posed to urge, arises from the seeming unsuitableness 
of the sacrifice of the cross. Whatever consideration 
such an objection may merit (and it has been amply 
considered and abundantly refuted), nothing but that 
promptness to find resemblance in dissimilitude, to 
which differences do not appear, could account for 
its being confounded with an objection of a totally 
different nature. Protestants have faith in the death 
upon the cross which they regard as the appointed 
and suitable termination of the life of humiliation in 
which Christ came to save the world, and they be- 
lieve, that, now, when all is finished, death hath no 
more dominion over the Lord of life, nor is indignity 
again to be offered him. As to the Socinian objec- 
tion, it is, in all probability, in accordance with an 
opinion which all would entertain, if the Scriptures 
had not taught, that thus it might be ; but there are 
no reflecting men (with probably the exception of 
the Rev Mr Rutter and the Irish Gentleman) who 
would think it the same thing, to assert, that, every 
day, Christ was eaten by sinners, and that he died 
for sin once. In a word, to deny the humiliation of 
Christ, prolonged after his ascension into heaven, 
is very different from denying, that he once, for 
the sins of the whole world, submitted to the death 
upon the cross. 

In the eighth objection, it is alleged, that it seems 
absurd to adore one born of a woman, and after- 
Wards crucified, — as absurd as to adore Christ in the 
sacrament; that is, to adore what seems a w^afer. 
Nothing can be more erroneous. There is no ab- 
surdity whatever in the thought of adoring a human 
being who has left a divine remembrance behind him. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



131 



On the contrary, the tendency of man so to worship 
is, perhaps, the best known characteristic of his na- 
ture. It is unnecessary and unsuitable to the occasion 
to enlarge on this topic, but it is right to add, that the 
objection of Protestants is not grounded on a notion 
that Christ is not to be adored in all places and in 
all acts of devotion, but that that which they hold 
to be bread and wine should not receive divine wor- 
ship. 

Thus, I trust, it has been shown, that the attempt 
to lessen the influence of truth, by associating it with 
superstition, has manifested rather the zeal than the 
discretion of those who could contemplate so unholy 
an alliance. It was my intention to proceed with 
some remarks on the injury done to the scheme of 
revelation, by annexing to it a dogma which, like 
transubstantiation, can only receive assent by the sa- 
crifice of every thing which could give the evidence 
for itself and all other doctrine, authority ; which re- 
quires, that the senses be accounted untrue, while 
their own testimony must be received as unimpeacha- 
ble, in order to prove their falsehood ; but I have 
found the subject so fully and ably discussed by a co- 
temporary writer, that I feel I am consulting best for 
my reader by transcribing a few lines from his ob- 
servations. Should a miracle, which is received 
only upon the evidence of sense, be any sufficient in- 
ducement to receive a doctrine which implies a rejec- 
tion of the evidence of sense? Is it reasonable to be 
called upon to believe one of our senses in one in- 
stance, in order that ive may disbelieve all our senses 
in another instance. Can a proposition be considered 
credible, when we must reject the only evidence upon 
which we admit the premises, before we come to the 
conclusion? Upon what evidence am I called upon 
to believe in transubstantiation ? Because a miracle 



132 



GUIDE TO AN 



has been performed. But why do I believe the mi- 
racle ? Because it is evident to my senses. So that 
I am to believe the miracle, because it is agreeable to 
the testimony of one of my senses, and also to believe 
transubstantiation while it contradicts the evidence of 
all my senses. The belief in the miracle proves that 
I trust my senses. The belief in transubstantiation 
proves that I distrust my senses. So that if I have 
good ground for believing the miracle, I have no 
ground for believing in transubstantiation, and if I 
have good ground for believing in transubstantiation, 
I have no ground for believing in the miracle. To 
believe in such a doctrine, upon the evidence of a 
miracle, would be neither more nor less than to lay 
the axe to the root of all rational belief whatever. It 
would be to make the sufficiency of the evidence of 
sense the grounds of its insufficiency."* 

Such is the dogma which is pronounced similar in 
character with the fundamental doctrines of Chris- 
tianity, and for the credibility of which it is attempted 
to extort favourable testimonies from writings of the 
wise and free. Nothing but extreme haste or inex- 
perience can excuse such misrepresentations. All 
reflecting men confess, that, in the province of faith 
there are revelations above, but steadfastly maintain 
that there can be none contrary, to reason. Modes 
of existence of the spiritual and infinite surpass our 
comprehension; but doctrines respecting "body" (a 
substance which sense can discern) opposed to rea- 
son, are to be rejected, because they would discredit 
all evidence on which faith could rest. 

In fine, it should be observed, that the evidences 
offered in proof of the dogma are worthy of it. On 
such testimony no man of sound mind could believe 

^ Observations on the vindication, &c. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 133 

any communication of importance ; and no man, it 
may be added, could, on any testimony, receive the 
dogma on which it has been offered. ''I never," said 
a man of true genius, " could believe demonstration ^ 
if it contradicted intuitionC^ 



M 



134 



GUIDE TO AN 



CHAPTER X. 



Tradition — Council of Trent, Irenseus, Protestant Doctrine 
— 2 Thessalonians. 

The author of the Travels, his readers need scarcely 
be informed, appears to ascribe little authority to 
scripture in deciding questions of faith. The cir- 
cumstances under which he commenced his search, 
and the object he had at heart, render this error the 
more remarkable. He had very gloomy suspicions 
as to the tenets of the Church of Rome and their 
demoralising tendency ; his opinions of the reformed 
principles, known as only they could be to him in 
the characters of his Protestant acquaintances, may 
be judged from the secret desire by which he con- 
fesses himself influenced, that, in some form of 
Protestantism, he should discover the object of his 
search ; yet, strange to say, he formed his decisions 
on the testimonies which members of the Church of 
Rome adduce as in their favour (but from which 
when unfavourable they dissent), and scarcely con- 
descended to examine that testimony to which all 
sects of the reformed appeal, although not they alone, 
but their adversaries also, confess that it contains no 
error. 

The disadvantage of this method will be rendered 
apparent by a single consideration. Suppose it as- 
certained that the doctrines of a Protestant Church 
(let us say the Church of England) could not appeal 
to the testimony of a single uninspired writer among 
the early Christians, but could exhibit irrefragable 
proof that her principles were clearly and with au- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



135 



thority proclaimed in the Bible, while the Church of 
Rome, without any warrant of scripture, was rich in 
human attestations, would the question at issue be- 
tween the Churches, be decided favourably to the 
institutions which the book of God's word disallow- 
ed ? An answer is unnecessary. No man who pro- 
fesses to believe in a revelation would for a moment 
hesitate to declare, that the highest degree of human 
testimony is altogether worthless, if set in manifest 
opposition to those records which are infallibly true. 

How came it to pass that our Traveller adopted a 
course so widely diverging from that which reason 
would recommend, and, under the peculiar circum- 
stances in which he chose it, so very uninviting. I 
looked, he says, for Protestantism, I could not find it. 
In Tertullian — not there. Basil — he knew nothing 
of it. I have twenty witnesses to prove that they 
were not cognisant of the doctrine held by Protest- 
ants, and I will not seek their principles in the Bible, 
on which all profess to believe their doctrines found- 
ed, nor study that Gospel, which amidst all diversi- 
ties of opinion, it is the profession or the boast of 
every sect, faithfully to preach and interpret. 

It would not be an easy matter to reconcile this 
disregard of Scripture with sincerity of purpose, if 
we had not been instructed, that the Irish Gentle- 
man was, if not educated, brought up in the disci- 
pline of the Church of Rome, and, although there 
are cases in which the native vigour of the under- 
standing manifests, in the sentiments and conduct of 
individuals not yet set free from thraldom, an inde- 
pendent spirit very impatient of fetters, there have 
also been men of ability and even genius, on whose 
minds submission has wrought a habit of obedience, 
such as will not suffer, even by a question, or a 
thought, the slightest disparagement to authority. 
It is most natural that Roman Catholics of little re- 



136 



GUIDE TO AN 



flection shall not feel that deep and exclusive rever- 
ence for the Bible which causes Protestants, with 
unceasing attention, to lay up its instructions in their 
hearts. It is to Protestants the sole rule of faith, 
so that nothing shall be taught as necessary to salva- 
tion, save that which is contained in God's written 
word. It is to Roman Catholics a book of so little 
authority that they are contented to receive the re- 
port of what had been spoken nearly two thousand 
years since, and had never been written, as of no 
less authority. 

It is not, perhaps, just to impute wilful neglect of 
Scripture to one who has been accustomed, from his 
earliest life, to see it connected with, what Protest- 
ants would esteem, a disparaging association, but it 
brings more deeply before us the necessity of inquir- 
ing into the truth of that doctrine, in which the in- 
sufficiency of the written word is asserted. 

It was at the Council of Trent, that, for the first 
time, tradition was raised to the high honour of hold- 
ing divided empire with the Holy Scripture. After 
long debate and much expressed difference of opi- 
nion, it was decided that the purity of Evangelical 
truth was contained in the Scriptures, and in un- 
written traditions, which, received from the lips of 
Christ by his apostles, or from the apostles them- 
selves, the Holy Spirit speaking in them, have come 
down to us delivered, as it were, from hand to hand" 
— quasi per manus traditae." An anathema was 
annexed to this decree, pronounced against all who 
would not admit as canonical the Trent enumeration 
of the books of Scripture, or who should knowingly 
(sciens et prudens) contemn the aforesaid traditions, 
having previously declared that this species of testi- 
mony " shall be received and reverenced with equal 
affection of piety" as God's written word.* 



* Cone. Trid. Sess. 4. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



137 



The art with which the Council of Trent has 
drawn up its decrees has never been sufficiently 
applauded. Even where they seem most distinct 
and peremptory, you can discern, after you have 
for a short time reflected upon them, that there is a 
meaning for the judgment different from that which 
first meets the eye, and, in various instances, you 
find, in language which seems to breathe all the 
spirit of the Roman Church, ample provision for 
Protestantism. In this decree, especially, respect- 
ing tradition, it is difficult to believe that the lan- 
guage in which it is expressed should not have been 
carefully studied, and intended, at the same time, to 
awe the superficial by the pretence of a two-fold 
rule of faith, and to provide assurance for the re- 
flecting, that the authority of Scripture is undivided. 
The reader shall judge. The decree first pronounces 
the decision of the council, that the words of Christ 
and his apostles — the dictates of the Spirit which 
have been preserved in writing and by unwritten 
tradition are of equal authority — it proceeds next to 
recite the names of the books of Scripture which 
shall be accounted canonical, and pronounces an 
anathema against whosoever shall dispute the judg- 
ment of the council respecting them, or who shall 
(sciens et prudens) despise the aforesaid traditions— 
that is to say, who shall despise words which he 
knows to have been spoken hy Christ or his apostles. 
Can it be supposed, that the omission on the part of 
the council to give assistance in determining what 
these traditions are, could have been accidental ? 
Surely the mere circumstance of enumerating the 
books of Scripture would have suggested the neces- 
sity of similar carefulness respecting the " traditions." 
It is expressly stated that the scriptural enumeration 
is made, " least any doubt should arise what are the 
books which are received by the council." If tradi- 
M 2 



138 



GUIDE TO AN 



tions are to be had in equal honour, they must have 
been held worthy of a similar protection. What is 
then to be understood from their not having obtained 
it ? Either that the divines, assembled at Trent, 
designed to render their anathema imperative, or 
that they were overruled by a power which defeated 
their purpose and marked their proceedings with 
inconsistency. 

In truth, there is no Protestant who could not 
subscribe to all that part of the decree respecting 
tradition with which any, except its framers, are 
concerned. They may deny that evangelical truth is 
divided between Scripture and unwritten testimo- 
nies ; they may affirm that whatever God requires 
of us to believe, he commanded to be written for 
our instruction ; they may pronounce a strong cen- 
sure on those who could leave dependent on preca- 
rious preservation, doctrines of faith which they 
should have committed to the sure custody of written 
records ; and yet, if they are persuaded that there is 
a divine truth which is not contained in Scripture, 
but which, on satisfactory evidence, they are per- 
suaded to believe Christ or his inspired disciples had 
spoken, they will not, because of the nature of the 
transmission, account the truth as of less importance 
and authority : that it had a divine author will satisfy 
them that it is to be received, even though they find 
it difficult to understand why it has not been more 
carefully guarded. 

Where, then, are those traditions to be found, 
which dispute authority with Scripture ? By what 
characters shall we recognise them ? Where are the 
evidences of their preservation ? What are they ? 
The Church of Rome offers no assistance in answer- 
ing. Until the 8th of April, 1546, whatever indi- 
viduals may have thought, the Church of Rome in its 
collective capacity had pronounced no decree, which 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



139 



exalted tradition to a co-partnership with Scripture. 
In the declaration which, upon that occasion, the 
Council of Trent issued, we are of course to look 
for the doctrine which is affirmed as matter of faith 
respecting the unwritten testimony. That doctrine 
is, that whosoever will not receive, with due respect, 
the words of Christ and his apostles, knowing them 
to be such, simply because the mode of their trans- 
mission has not been by written characters, incurs the 
penalties of excommunication. All, therefore, who 
say, that, if they can be assured of the divine origin 
of an expression, or a doctrine, or a rite, they will 
respect it, whatever the source may be from which 
their knowledge of it has been derived, must be con- 
sidered unhurt by the Trent malediction. Nor can 
they be, on the principles of the Church of Rome, 
accursed, although, at the same time, they affirm 
that Scripture alone contains all things necessary to 
salvation ; although they refuse to admit tradition 
into their rule of faith. The Church of Rome has 
not authenticated, by its testimony of approval, any 
one tradition distinct from Scripture. She has left it, 
therefore, to the private judgment of her children to 
ascertain what unwritten testimony should be re- 
ceived ; and, if the judgment of a rational man can- 
not be satisfied that the evidence to prove tradition 
pure, through the lapse of eighteen centuries, is of 
equal authority with that which establishes the au- 
thenticity of Scripture, he has not knowingly con- 
temned the traditions of the apostles, because he does 
not know, either from the Church of Rome or his 
own inquiries, that, in an unwritten form, any apos- 
tolic tradition exists. He is, in consequence, secure 
against ecclesiastical censure. 

But it may be said, that the existence of unwritten 
traditions was affirmed by the Council of Trent. No 
doubt it was said that truth is contained in Scripture 



140 



GUIDE TO AN 



and tradition ; but it was not affirmed that any truth 
was to be learned from the latter, in which the writ* 
ten word did not give instruction. It cannot, there- 
fore, be ascribed to the Church of Rome as an article 
of faith, that, on the separate and independent testi- 
mony of unwritten tradition, any doctrine is to be 
received. The contrary, indeed, appears to be very 
fully established, as may be understood from the fol- 
lowing statement. In its third session, the Council 
of Trent thought it proper to set forth a confession of 
faith, " following the example of the Fathers, who 
in former councils were wont, by such professions, 
to confound heretics, to attract infidels to the faith, 
and confirm the faithful." The confession of faith 
thus made and ratified in the council was none other 
than the Nicene Creed, which is declared to be 
" that principle in which all who confess the faith of 
Christ necessarily agree, and the firm and only foun- 
dation against which the gates of hell shall never 
prevail."* Here, then, we have the summary of 
doctrine fixed, and as, in this summary, there is no 
article which has not its proof in Scripture, we are 
led to conclude, that when, in the first decree of the 
succeeding session, tradition was named, authority 
was claimed for it rather as ofiering concurrent testi- 
mony to the truths which Scripture taught, than as 
furnishing separate and independent evidence, where- 
by additional doctrines were, or might be, authenti- 
cated. 

If there be Roman Catholics who deny this inter- 
pretation of the Trent decree, it is for them to dis- 
cover what those traditions are which all men are 
bound to honour, and to vindicate their Church and 
themselves from the charge of lessening the authority 



* Cone, Trid. Sess. 3. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



141 



of Scripture, by a declaration that it is of but partial 
use, and disturbing men's minds by proposing a 
standard of faith consisting of two parts, one of which 
they fully and minutely profess to describe, and ano- 
ther which they do not describe, and to the disco- 
very of which they do not offer even the slightest 
assistance. If tradition establish no doctrine which 
is not founded in scripture, the decree of the Council 
of Trent respecting it, was, it must be confessed, 
superfluous ; but, if it be supposed to convey any truth 
which the Bible has not taught, it is worse than su- 
perfluous, it is criminal, in neglecting to discriminate 
between the real and the spurious, and to settle by 
an authoritative declaration, not alone the canonical 
books of scripture, but also, what shall be regarded 
as the canonical traditions. 

When the only document, having authority, in 
which the Church of Rome seems to claim for un- 
written tradition an undue respect, is thus clearly 
shown to have advanced no such pretension, it may 
be thought a very uncalled for labour to ofler further 
argument in defence of the sovereignty of scripture. 
Public opinion, however, among Roman Catholics, 
has stripped it so of the supremacy which is its due, 
and has so long contemplated it as of merely Consu- 
lar authority, that a few words more may not be quite 
out of season; especially as they are suggested by 
selections which the author of the Travels has made 
from early writers, and which, being the extracts 
chosen to be adduced in favour of giving honour to 
the unwritten word, may, without any great stretch 
of invention, be received as the passages in which, 
tradition being mentioned, there is least spoken 
against it. 

The testimony of Irenaeus is that upon which the 
Irish Gentleman chiefly relies, and to which he af- 
firms double weight" should be ascribed, " inas- 



142 



GUIDE TO AN 



much as he not only asserts in all his writings, the 
high authority of tradition, but was himself one of 
the earliest and brightest links in that chain of oral 
delivery which has descended to the Church of Rome 
from the apostolic age."* It can hardly be thought 
necessary to remark, that, in order to render the tes- 
timony of Irenaeus available at the present day, it 
should <?ontain something more than a bare recogni- 
tion of traditions received by him and his cotempora- 
ries. We may, therefore, pass by his account of Po- 
lycarp's preaching, of which, he says, having heard 
it in youth, he can never lose the remembrance. In- 
deed, perhaps it is not perfectly right (although it 
may be tedious, as it is true, to speak it,) not to ob- 
serve, that the reasons assigned by Irenaeus for re- 
membering Polycarp's discourses, discountenance 
the doctrine of tradition. He remembered, because 
all the associations by which the memory of early 
youth is most affected, lent their aid to give perma- 
nency to the first impressions. I can tell the place 
in which the blessed Polycarp sat and taught, and 
his going out and coming in ; and the manner of his 
life, and the form of his person ;"t it was, therefore, 
not a marvel that he should remember discourses re- 
called often to the mind by such remembrances — re- 
vived, too, frequently, by the scriptures, to which he 
declares the discourses were conformable ; and it will 
not create much debate to affirm, that those who re- 
ceived reports of Polycarp's discourses from Irenaeus 
would be more likely to retain a fresh remembrance 
of what the narrator, in his own person, addressed to 
them, than of the reports they received from him of 
his predecessor. In truth, the alteration which sto- 
ries undergo, as they pass from hand to hand," ren- 
ders it scarcely necessary to say, that an argument 

* Travels, vol. i. p. 35. f P- + 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



143 



which should prove Irenaeus, living in the second 
century, a competent witness to the words of one 
whom he had intimately known, might not be effect- 
ual to establish the perfect fidelity of every link in 
the chain of transmission, during the sixteen centu- 
ries which have elapsed since his removal. 

It is not therefore alone on the fact that Ire- 
naeus remembered the countenance and voice of 
Polycarp, our Traveller relies for his persuasion 
that the authority of Tradition and Scripture are 
equal. He quotes from the saint a recommendation 
to Christians that they attend to the instructions of 
their pastors, an assurance that while " the tongues 
of nations vary, the virtue of tradition is one and 
the same every where," and, in fine, he recites as 
though it were decisive, the following remarkable 
passage, " Supposing the apostles had not left us 
the Scriptures, ought we not still to have followed 
the ordinance of tradition, which they consigned to 
those to w^hom they consigned the Churches ? It is 
this ordinance of tradition which many nations of 
barbarians, believing in Christ, follow without the 
use of letters or ink."* And thus the Irish Gentle- 
man concludes his search, satisfied that he has dis- 
covered the Romish doctrine of tradition. The 
argument is of a novel kind. If the apostles had 
not left us the Scriptures we ought to follow tradi- 
tion. But they have left us the Scriptures, therefore 
we ought to follow tradition still. Again ; there were 
barbarians in the second century, who not having the 
knowledge by which they could commit their reli- 
gious doctrine to waiting, adhered to the instruction 
communicated by a then recent tradition ; therefore, 
the nations of the nineteenth century, rich in the 
knowledge and arts of a very refined age, are to pay 



* Ti-avels, vol. i. p. 3r» 



144 



GUIDE TO AN 



to a tradition eighteen hundred years old, the same 
respect which barbarians, unacquainted with letters, 
yielded to traditions which their fathers had told 
them, and of whose truth they had the most convinc- 
ing testimony. 

But what were those traditions in which the bar- 
barians were instructed? Had the author of the 
Travels been equally communicative with the writer 
whose sentiments he thought he was reporting, he 
would not have left it necessary for any individual 
(not a member of the Church of Rome) to add a 
single remark to the very unequivocal testimony he 
had been the honoured instrument to produce in 
favour of Protestant doctrine. But, indeed, it is 
not now we are to learn, that all advocates of the 
traditionary creeds discontinue their testimonies just 
when they are about to become important, breaking 
off always in the moment most interesting, and 
leaving to others the disagreeable office of piecing 
out their imperfect attestations. How then does 
Irenaeus continue the picture of which our Travel- 
ler has exhibited a very inadequate representation? 
After mentioning the belief of certain barbarians 
in the ancient tradition, he proceeds to describe the 
tradition and the belief — "believing in one God, 
the Maker of heaven and earth, and all things 
therein, by Jesus Christ the son of God, who, out 
of his most eminent love to the creature, vouch- 
safed to be born of a virgin, uniting man to God by 
himself, suffering under Pontius Pilate, rising again, 
and being illustriously received into glory, he shall 
come again the Saviour of those that are saved, the 
judge of those that are judged, sending into eternal 
fire, the misrepresenters of truth and the despisers of 
his Father and of his coming,"* &c. " Thus by that 



* Iren. AdVc Haer. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



145 



old tradition of the Apostles they reject the counsel 
of Heretics." Is there any doctrine here which is 
not contained in Scripture? Surely no member of 
the Church of Rome will affirm that there is. What 
is the case, then ? — Irenasus declares, that if the 
Apostles had not left us a written testimony we should 
content ourselves with the unwritten ; as a certain 
class of barbarians who knew not letters, received, 
through tradition, the main articles of the Apostles' 
Creed, but no article which was not recommended 
by Scriptural testimony. Who could argue from this, 
that a people not unacquainted with the characters in 
which recorded evidence is preserved, and not left 
without the holy Scripture, must nevertheless profess 
their belief that there are testimonies unproved, un- 
named, which they are to elevate into importance, 
not that, by their aid, the written evidence may be 
illustrated, but that, if I maybe allowed so humbling 
an allusion, for want of their endorsement or accept- 
ance, the Scriptures shall be dishonoured. 

It may be a question with some, why Irenseus, 
who could have appealed to Scripture, should yet 
have made so honourable reference to other species 
of evidence. He did so, because the heretics against 
whom he contended, denied the authority of the 
Sacred Volume, pretending that God would vouchsafe 
another Gospel, and that, in his private conferences 
with the disciples, our Lord had frequently commu- 
nicated truths of more moment than those recorded 
in Scripture, " When," Irenaeus writes, " they are 
confuted by the w^ritten word, they assail the holy 
Scriptures themselves, as if they were not of autho- 
rity, because they are variously expressed (varie sunt 
dictae) and because truth cannot be discovered in 
them by those who are unacquainted with tradition, 
for, that they were delivered not in writing, but viva 
voce, as St. Paul, we speak wisdom among the per- 
fect, and this wisdom they, each of them, say they 

N 



146 



GUIDE TO AN 



have discovered.*'* This is the language, this the 
argument which Irenaeus imputes to the Heretics of 
his day, and thus he was constrained to adopt that 
mode of proof by which, although it was not the 
best, he was enabled to expose their errors. He acted 
in the same spirit as that in which the advocates of 
•Protestant truth now show the weakness of their ad- 
versaries' cause, illustrating their reasonings by ex- 
tracts from the works of the Fathers, not because 
they hold these works in too exalted honour, but 
simply, because they contain the testimonies to which 
the Church of Rome most earnestly appeals, and by 
which, accordingly, she, or at least some among her 
members may be most eirectually brought to see the 
errors of the system they are upholding. 

Our Traveller, although he does not seem to have 
made account of his knowledge, was not altogether 
unacquainted with the facts of the subject on which 
he was writing. He was awaret that the Valenti- 
nians were the heretics to whom, or against whom, 
the remonstrances he has quoted from Irensus were 
applied. He was aware of the source in which the 
errors of the Valentinians originated, and he knew it 
to be a dependance on unwritten tradition, " Such 
was the fanciful account given by Valentinus," such 
the wild tissue of fiction which its inventor boasted 
to have derived from the secret communications of 
Christ himself to his apostles, somewhat 
strange, that, after having found the foulest heresy 
thus originating in tradition, the Irish gentleman had 
not corrected his very erroneous notions respecting 
the passages he quoted from Ireneeus, and been pro- 
tected against the mortification he may hereafter feel, 
should he come to the knowledge of the deception he 
has, innocently, attempted to practise on his readers. 

* Iren. Adv. Ha:r. Lib. 3-2. f Travels, Vol. I. p. 35. 
t Travels, Vol. I. p. 243. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



147 



I pass from the Travels and the Fathers, to notice 
one citation by which controversialists, in modern 
times, have endeavoured to extort from Scripture 
itself, a recommendation of the rival authority. St. 
Paul had written, in his second epistle to the Thessa- 
ionians, " Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold 
the traditions v^hich ye have been taught, whether by 
word or by epistle and it is confidently argued 
that the injunction which the apostle lays on the 
Thessalonians, that they prese7've tradition, is tanta- 
mount to a precept by which he would enjoin all 
Christian people (eighteen hundred years later than 
the day in which he wrote,) to receive the doctrine 
held respecting unwritten testimony by the Church 
which proclaims herself its depository. Surely, if 
she has not preserved the very tradition of which the 
aposde so earnestly recommended a careful keeping, 
she ought to be more guarded in the doctrine she 
teaches, and more modest in setting forth her preten- 
sions. Yet so it is, that while she confesses this most 
valued tradition to have been lost, and assigns no jus- 
tification or excuse for her failure in duty, she pro- 
nounces, with as much confidence as if she had been 
faitliful, that she has sovereign dominion over unwrit- 
ten tradition ; and, although she will not declare wdiat 
it is, requires, of all her votaries, a promise to receive 
it. Yes ; the Church which thus confesses her 
neglect in a matter of the deepest iraportunce, claims 
the benefit of a repaired infallibility, and demands to 
be believed again. She acknowledges that she has 
not been faithful to the apostolic injunction, and yet 
insists on being regarded, notwithstanding the lapse, 
as unimpeached and impeccable. 

But is it true that the Church of Rome acknow- 
ledges the loss of those traditions, the object of the 
apostolic precept on which her claims are founded ? 



* 2 Thess. ii. 15. 



148 



GUIDE TO AN 



The charge was urged against her by Chilling worth, 
very long since, long enough, surely, to justify our 
demand for a reply, and although she may be well 
pleased to think the argument of that great man for- 
gotten, she cannot say, that by any exercise of reason 
or ingenuity on the part of her retainers, it has ever 
been answered or evaded. The case indeed is too 
strong to admit of ordinary defence or " explanation." 
In recommending that the traditions be preserved, St. 
Paul, it is undeniable, referred especially to those 
testimonies by which the man of sin" could be dis- 
cerned, and which, it was not, we can understand, 
safe to communicate in a written form. What the 
Church of Rome pronounces on the subject may be 
collected from certain notes in the Rheimish Testa- 
ment, in which, strange to say, in the same page, the 
claim of undiminished confidence is found preceding 
the confession of most unpardonable insolvency. 

"See here," writes the commentator, " the un- 
written traditions commanded to be kept." 

" Here must be meant some particular person." 

" It m^Y^ perhaps, be understood of Mahomet." 

" St. Augustine professeth plainly, that he under- 
standeth not these words, nor that that followeth of 
the mystery of iniquity, and least of all that which 
the apostle addeth, ' only that he which holdeth now 
do hold, which may humble us all, and stay the con- 
fident rashness of these times, namely of heretics.'' " 

Well may we ask, what heretics ? Who are the 
most confident and rash ? Who are they who declare 
themselves the guardians of tradition — are proved by 
their own acknowledgment false to the solemn trust — 
and yet, demand and obtain most ungrounded confi- 
dence to the contradictory assurance, that now and 
ever they have been faithful ? Where is the confi- 
dent rashness to be complained of — in those who say 
the tradition most impressively recommended to the 
keeping of a primitive Christian Church has been 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



149 



lost — who hold therefore the written characters in 
which the Bible is preserved to afford better evidence 
of doctrine, than the testimony of remembrances 
which only a continued miracle could preserve, and 
to which, their acknowledged unfaithfulness, at a 
very early age, gives proof, that no miraculous pro- 
tection was extended ; — -or in the submissive votaries 
of the Church of Rome, who say, although the only 
tradition committed expressly, so far as we have 
knowledge, to the keeping of onr Church, has been 
lost, we hold her, nevertheless, an infallible guardian 
of tradition ; and although we know nothing of what 
it is, or what it teaches, we profess ourselves ready 
to pay it the same honour with which Protestants re- 
verence their Bible. 

The ''confident rashness of heretics" which the 
Rheimish annotator censures, is of that kind which 
suggests a further remark on the loss of the apostolic 
tradition. The reader will understand that one par- 
ticular in which the condemned precipitancy of he- 
retics betrayed itself, was in the boldness which 
ascribed to the Bishop of Rome those characteristics 
by which the apostle Paul designated the man of 
sin." I do not enter here into an enumeration of 
the various minute and important coincidences be- 
tween the history of the Papal chair, and the pro- 
phecy addressed to the Thessalonians ; but I may 
observe, that no man has ever read the one and the 
other without thinking the correspondence between 
them worthy of deep attention, and that very many 
wise and good men have been persuaded to believe 
the historical narrative an exact fulfilment of the pro- 
phecy. The Church of Rome, of course, denies, and 
even launches a damnatory censure against any who 
gainsay her decision ; but why has she suffered that 
tradition to be lost by which the dispute could be 
satisfactorily, and with the highest authority, decided. 
She declares that she has the custody of tradition — she 
N 2 



150 



GUIDE TO AN 



confesses that the tradition respecting the *' man of 
sin" was the testimony by which he could infalubly 
be discovered, and when called on to produce the 
tradition committed to her care, for the purpose of 
determining by its testimony whether the pope is 
" the man of sin who opposeth himself against all 
that is called God and worshipped," her answer is — 
hear it all who would determine where confident 
rashness should be impiited~I cannot produce the 
tradition which described the blasphemer — it was lost 
probably in the fourth, certainly before the end of 
the fifth century. 

I dwell no longer on the subject of tradition. 
Whoever desires full information as to the doctrine 
and the argument upon it, will be repaid for his pe- 
rusal of a tract to w4iich I have already referred my 
readers. For our present purpose, it is sufficient 
briefly to recapitulate the contents of this chapter. 
There is nothing in the writings of the early Fathers 
on tradition which favours the popular doctrine of the 
Church of Rome — there is nothing in creeds or 
councils by which it is affirmed — and there is no do- 
cument in existence from which we can learn where 
approved tradition may be found. What is then this 
unwritten testimony for whose deferred appearance 
Scripture must wait, before its evidence can be ad- 
mitted? Where does the tradition lurk? How has 
its preservation been cared for? Have popes and 
priests with their expiring prayers whispered it to 
their successors ? Is it a real being which can dis- 
perse its bodily form upon the viewless winds, or 
lurk within the recesses of Braganza or the Vatican 
to awe refractory vassals with the menace of its forth- 
coming? How potent an auxiliary a name may be. 
Since the decree of Trent exalted this abstraction 
into so undue honour, it has not disclosed a single 
unwritten testimony to the world, yet does its imagi- 
nary existence lend authority to the order to which its 



IRISH GENTLEMAN, 



151 



treasures are revealed, and invest with a sacred awe 
the pages of the Missal. Tradition is the Egeria of 
the Romish priesthood. If a more ambitious title be 
advanced iti its favour, substituting the Breviary for 
the Bible, it may be regarded as the White Lady" 
of the house of Rome ; its presence revealed only in 
solitary places, its voice faint and uncertain, its form 
evanescent, its aspect in all the lineaments, faintly 
and capriciously discernible, with nothing distinctly 
visible but the chain of argument from which the 
phantom particles of its form gain a semblance that 
they cohere ; a girdle which has been, age after age, 
wasting; and which, in the vision conjured up by 
the Irish Gentleman on his Travels, appears worn to 
a thread. 



CHAPTER XL 



Unbroken Succession— Baronius, Spondanus, Bellarmine — 
Papal Chair — Right of Private Judg-ment — Gregory Na- 
ziazen, Jerome — Exclusive Salvation — Creed of Pope 
Pius — Council of Trent, Scriptures — Dr. Murray — Dr. 
Doyle. 

" The history, indeed, of this one (the papal) 
chair, presents in itself," observes the Irish Gentle- 
man, such a phenomenon and marvel, as no other 
form of human power, in any age of the world, has 
paralleled. Through a course of eighteen centuries, 
amidst the constant flux and reflux of the destinies 
of nations — whilst every other part of Europe has 
seen its institutions, time after time, broken up and 
reconstructed — while new races of kings have, like 
pageants, come and disappeared, and England her- 
self has passed successively under the sway of five 
different nations, the apostolic see, the chair of St. 



im 



GUIDE TO AN 



Peter, has alone defied the vicissitudes of time— has 
remained as a city seated on a mountain, a rallyhig 
point for the Church of God throughout all time, 
and counting an unbroken succession of pontiffs, 
from its first occupant, St. Peter, down to the pre- 
sent hour."* 

If nothing more were implied in the above passage 
than that the bishopric of Kome exceeded, in the 
wealth and temporal dignity ascribed to it, every 
other " episcopal chair," it would not be necessary to 
offer any comment upon it, or to express an acknow- 
ledgment, that the revenues and the political influence 
of many popes were greater than those of " their 
fellows." If wealth be the test of truth, the Church 
of Rome, with perfect justness, could condemn the 
doctrines of the reformation, and of the apostles, and 
fulminate anathemas against all who would contend 
with her for a spiritual possession to which she could 
advance an indisputable, although not a spiritual, title. 
It is quite evident, however, that it is not such a title 
our Traveller would assert for the Church to which 
he has returned. We are, accordingly, to consider, 
in the eloquent eulogy he has pronounced on the per- 
manency of the papal see, the ''unbroken succes- 
sion" of bishops as the chief subject of his praise, and 
the accessories of splendour and power with which 
they were adorned, as incidents which served to ren- 
der their characters and actions conspicuous. It is, 
therefore, to the '' succession" of the Roman bishops 
my observations shall be addressed ; and my inquiry 
shall be, not whether they were powerful and rich, 
but whether, in the supposition that the " unbroken 
succession" could be proved, it would constitute an 
argument for the superiority of their Church ; and 
secondly, whether the evidence in favour of this argu- 
ment is of such a nature as to bring conviction. 



* Travels, Vol. I. p. 190, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



153 



If the simple fact, that the present Bishop of Rome 
is tlie successor, in a direct line, of the first who 
presided in that see, constitute an argument which 
proves the superiority of the Roman over all other 
Churches, it can only be, because no other epis- 
copal chair' ^ can boast a similar succession. Did the 
" Irish Gentleman" make inquiries to satisfy himself, 
that the honour he ascribes to Rome was peculiar to 
her ? Did he inquire whether the Anglican Church 
could not supply numerous cases of a similar nature ? 
He contrasts the permanency of the Roman Church 
with the frequent changes and unsettlements in Eng- 
land — (" while England herself has fallen under the 
sway of five different nations, the apostolic chair has 
defied the vicissitudes of time," &c.) — and appears 
to have forgotten, that although the civil polity of 
the country experienced destruction and change, the 
Church of England " has defied the vicissitudes of 
time," and can appeal to many of her cathedral his- 
tories, for proofs, that she, too, participates in the 
honour of the unbroken succession. But the line of 
succession in the Church of Rome is more extended. 
Is it to be understood, then, that whatsoever is more 
ancient, is also of greater authority ? If this be so, 
Rome must have been for many centuries inferior in 
dignity to Antioch, and those other sees which, she 
confesses, were erected before Peter established the 
papacy ; and could only have assumed power and 
authority when the more ancient churches had fallen, 
and at a period very long subsequent to the time at 
which she boasts that she was mother and mistress 
of all Christian congregations. Perhaps it may be 
said that the honour of a true succession is not to be 
ascribed to the British Churches, because they com- 
mitted a breach of unity, and introduced erroneous 
doctrines — but the point at issue between the papal 
and the reformed communion is, on whom does the 
guilt of schism rest ; and this, evidently, is a matter 



154 



GUIDE TO AN 



to be determined, not by the argument of succes- 
sion," but by a consideration of the changes in dis- 
cipline and doctrine from which schism or separation 
had its rise. We may affirm, therefore, that the ten- 
dency of any claim founded on the regularity of 
episcopal succession, cannot be ascertained without 
considering the claims of different Churches, and the 
evidences by which they are respectively supported. 

Of all the arguments by which the Church of Rome 
would abet her pretensions, this of the unbroken suc- 
cession in the papacy appears the most daring and 
untenable. I am not at all surprised to find it occa- 
sionally advanced before a select audience, consisting 
of a class for which the revisions of an Index Ex- 
purgatorius are unnecessary ; but, in a work in which 
the topics and the style would lead one to apprehend 
that it is designed for the instruction of those to whom 
history has not been sealed, it seems altogether un- 
accountable, that the desperate expedient should be 
adopted, of resting the authority of the Roman See 
on so frail and broken a reed as " succession." Who 
is ignorant of the manner in which the papal chair 
has been frequently and criminally invaded ? Who 
know^s not the species of influence to which the 
sovereign pontiffs often owed their election — and the 
outrage and violence wdth which, all forms of elec- 
tion being disdained, many were forcibly intruded 
into the See of Rome ? We are not left dependant for 
a knowledge of such events on the suspicious testi- 
mony of Protestant writers, or even on the dubious 
allegations of those whose attachment to the Church 
of Rome was regulated by reason. No. We have 
the complaints of one so thoroughly possessed of 
zeal, that he gravely advanced, as argument in proof 
of Christ's presence with the Church, the monstrous 
vices under which it laboured, and which, he con- 
ceived, proved its existence miraculous — we have his 
complaints of the injustice and violence of various 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



155 



papal usurpations, and the expression of his amaze- 
ment at the difficulty of determining in some cases 
between conflicting pretensions. 

The Irish Gentleman appears acquainted with the 
" Annals of Baronius," nor can he doubt the faith- 
fulness of that uncompromising champion of the 
papacy. Will he accept his testimony as to the " suc- 
cession ?" " What was then the aspect of the holy 
Roman Church, how very foul, under the tyranny of 
unchaste women, as powerful as they were depraved, 
when, at their will, sees were changed, bishoprics 
given, and what is of unutterable horror, their para- 
mours intruded into the chair of Peter — pseudo 
pontiffs, who should be named in the catalogue of 
the popes only for the uses of chronology; for who 
could say that men of such a character, illegally in- 
truded by harlots, were lawful Roman Pontiffs. No- 
where is there mention made of the clergy electing, 
or afterwards consenting. The canons v/ere all buried 
in silence, the decrees of popes (or bishops) were 
stifled, old traditions were proscribed, and the ancient 
customs in electing popes, as well as the sacred rites, 
and primitive practice, were all extinguished. Then, 
surely, Christ slept a deep sleep in the bark, and 
what was most to be lamented, there were no disci- 
ples to awake him."* 

I will not offend my reader, nor endure, myself, 
the disgust of describing the lives or conduct of these 
monsters of iniquity ,t as Baronius calls them, who 
usurped the see of Rome, but shall be contented 
with repeating, on his authority, that during the en- 
tire of the tenth century, their disorders afflicted the 
Church ; and with proposing as a question, whether 
we should recognize here a chasm in the succession, 
or reject the testimony of the Cardinal historian. I 
make no comment on the morals of these sacrilegious 

Baronius Ann. 993. f Horrenda quam plarima monstrao 



156 



GUIDE TO AN 



profligates. I regard simply historical testimony, of 
the least suspicious character, that, during a century, 
a system prevailed, whereby individuals, who were 
not Popes, held the Bishopric of Rome; and know 
no evidence, of equal or of any account, which tes- 
tifies that the " succession" has been preserved. 

But the disasters of the " unbroken succession" 
have been still more plainly recorded. In the eleventh 
century, there were three anti-popes, simultaneous 
not successive," residing at Rome, and dividing the 
revenues between them. Which of them, or was 
any, the Pope? Let us hear the historian Spondanus, 
respecting a schism of later days. Thus was pro- 
duced, in the Church, a most foul and pernicious 
schism." " Still more marvellous, the right of the 
parties was so dubious and uncertain, that not only 
princes, but also most learned theologians and pro- 
fessors of law, as well as men of greatest piety were 
attached to each side. Nay, there were numbers, 
conspicuous for their miraculous powers who em- 
braced each cause and called theirs holy, the adverse 
cause profane, nor could that matter ever be so de- 
termined as not to remain doubtful to very many." 
Such is the candid acknowledgment of the papal 
historian, at least of a historian whose attachment to 
the Church of Rome is beyond question. Did the 
foul schism he laments leave the line of succession 
unbroken? The utmost Spondanus is able to advance 
in favour of a cause he would faithfully have sup- 
ported, is the expression of what is no more than a 
vague opinion. " It seems to have been the judgment 
of the Catholic Church (which ought to outweigh all 
arguments, visions, prophecies, miracles,) that Urban, 
and his successors who remained at Rome, were true 
and legitimate pontiffs."* Why has an infallible 
Church left the line of a succession depending on a 



* Spondan, Ann. B. 78. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



157 



seems to be." There was a schism of fifty years' 
duration, Popes at Avignon and Popes at Rome. 
The phrase Babylonian captivity," applied to a 
previous removal of the papal chair, testifies how 
deeply the calamity had wounded, yet have the coun- 
cils left it a matter of conjecture in what line the suc- 
cession was preserved, or whether in any, and 
" notwithstanding all that has been written on the 
subject it is at this day undetermined, which of the 
two" (Urban 6, or Clement?,) was the lawful pope."^ 

I shall offer on this part of the subject only one 
quotation more. It is from Bellarmine, whose de- 
votedness to the Roman Court and Church has never 
been disputed. After the very straitest of his sect, 
he held opinions respecting the infallibility of the 
pope, which frequently occasioned him inconve- 
nience, and put to the proof his ingenuity and learn- 
ing. John XXIII." he writes is accused of most 
pernicious heresy, for he is said to have denied the 
future life and the resurrection of the flesh. I answer 
that it is not altogether certain and beyond doubt, 
that John XXIII. was a pope, and, therefore, it is not 
necessary to defend him. There were, in his time, 
three who claimed the papal title, Gregory XII. Be- 
nedict XIII. and John XXIII., nor could it easily be 
determined which of them was true and lawful pope, 
since there were not wanting to each, (supporters or) 
patrons of the greatest learning."t That is to say, 
there were very learned men who thought that neither 
of the three should be accounted a true pope, the 
champions of each holding the adverse parties in 
disesteem. If our traveller had remembered his his- 
torical reading, and applied to the various schisms in 
the see of Rome, the principle, that wherever there 
was contention between two claimants, there was 

* Grier's Epit. Cone. Gen. j.. 212. 
t Bell. De Pont : Lib. 4, G. 14. 

o 



158 



GUIDE TO AN 



doubt upon each, he would have been, it is probable, 
less peremptory in insisting on the argument of the 
" unbroken succession." 

Although so much scandal was given by the ini- 
quities and the contentions of popes in the middle 
ages, yet it cannot be denied that multitudes, (espe- 
cially, as a partial historian-^ with much naivete, ob- 
serves, the " remote northerns") reverenced the chair 
into which, by fraud or violence, or by canonical 
election, the pontiff had been installed; a species of 
devotedness, which would have occasioned more 
amazement, if w^e w^ere ignorant that the extravagan- 
cies and wickedness of the human heart have sought 
an exercise and an object, in a worship still more 
frightful and abominable than that which was offered 
to a vicious man. The Irish Gentleman appears edi- 
fied by this prostration of man's reason, and eulogises 
the means which human policy" had devised or 
adopted, in order to effect so desirable an object — 
" the repression of the right of private judgment,"! 
and, " if any resisted or dissented, no less awful a 
penalty than the forfeiture of eternal salvation. "J The 
reader who desires fuller information as to the manner 
in which the Irish Gentleman avows and applauds 
the policy wiiich adopted such modes of guarding 
unity, must consult the Travels." Here such sen- 
timents are stated as briefly as the requisite clearness 
will allow. 

It is necessary, however, to be more precise in 
representing the arguments to wiiich our Traveller 
has had recourse, and it is gratifying to be enabled to 
state, that whatever other errors may have disfigured 
the ancient monuments of ecclesiastical literature," 
there seems no reason to suspect that the Fathers of 
the first four centuries had adopted any such policy 
as that by which Rome has maintained her power. 



* Bar. Ann. f Travels, Vol. I, p, 212. f Ibid. 195, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



159 



The reader will judge whether anything less than the 
utter impossibility of finding more favourable testi- 
mony can account for the quotation of such passages 
as follow — " Truly," says Gregory of Nazianzum, 
in speaking of the mischiefs that arose from the exer- 
cise of private judgment; ** there should have been a 
law among us, whereby (as, among the Jews, young 
men were not allowed to read certain books of Scrip- 
ture) not all men, and at all times, but certain persons 
only, and on certain occasions, should be permitted 
to discuss the points of faith. "^^ There should have 
been a law to restrict private judgment. Unless our 
Traveller have the hardihood of the ready-witted 
Carthusian, who showed among the relics of a con- 
vent, the sword that Balaam zvished for, he must, 
on reflection discern in Gregory's testimony, decisive 
proof, that in his day, the judgment was unfettered. 

The quotation from Jerome places this matter in a 
still clearer light.t In all menial arts there must be 
some one to show the way, the art of understanding 
the Scriptures alone, is open to every reader. Here, 
learned or unlearned, we can all interpret, "the tat- 
tling old woman, the doting old man, the wily sophist, 
all, all here presume; they tear texts asunder, and 
dare to become teachers before they have learned." 
It is very singular that the little prelude in which our 
Traveller introduces this remarkable passage, did not 
suggest to him its character and bearing. The ex- 
postulation of Jerome furnishes abundant proof, that, 
in his day, the " Commons of God's people" had not 
been closed. Imbecility, arrogance, ignorance, were 
not regarded, then, as justifying so monstrous an 
usurpation. 

Even the apprehensions entertained by Jerome of 
evil consequences likely to arise from the unrestricted 
perusal of God's word, do not appear, great as his 



* Travels, Vol. I. p. 212. f Ibid, 



160 



GVIBE TO AN 



influence must have been, to have suggested to him 
the idea of procuring or proposing any law of restric- 
tion. He writes precisely as a Protestant would 
have written, who dreaded the exercise of uninstructed 
faculties on the mysteries of Scripture, but who knew, 
at the same time, that there was not, and ought not 
to be, a rule which should deny what God had com- 
manded to be written for his creatures, or give it only 
on conditions incompatible with the exercise of rea- 
son. In a word, Jerome wrote as a Protestant, (some 
will affirm not a wise one,) in a Protestant Church, 
and strange to say, the Irish Gentleman seems almost 
persuaded to believe so. " St. Jerome, too, in a pas- 
sage, whose just sarcasm will be found to fit some of 
the Bible-expounders of the present day, as closely 
as if they had been 7neasured for it, thus speaks."* 
Then follow the expressions already quoted, expres- 
sions such as have been spoken in and at the Pro- 
testant Church of the present day, as well as in the 
Church of primitive times, but which imply the un- 
restricted right of private judgment, and could not, 
with the least pretence to propriety, be spoken of his 
own Church by a presbyter of modern Rome. I 
shall add a single remark, not for the necessities of 
my argument, but in justice to the character of the 
calumniated Jerome. The passage in which he is 
represented as censuring the indiscriminate study of 
the Sacred Volume, is extracted from an Epistle, 
which is throughout from the commencement to the 
conclusion, an exhortation to Scriptural studies, an 
Epistle which the Bible-expounders of the present 
day" may confess to be as eloquent and as earnest 
an address in favour of the great object they have at 
heart, as they have published in the reports of their 
public meetings. The ruling passion of the times is 
described in the sentence which, with his usual suc- 



* Travels, Vol. I. p. 212. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



161 



cess, the Traveller" groped out, and is noticed for 
the purpose of explainmg why Jerome thought it 
adviseable to further the object he recommends by so 
various and minute instructions. In a word, where 
the Bible is thrown open to, all, some may abuse it. 
The Council of Trent and the Irish Gentleman, de- 
fender of his country's ancient faith,^ the defender! — 
proh pudor— of the faitli of Sedulius and Claudius, 
and Patrick and Bertram, and Scotus Erigena, would 
prevent abuse by forbidding all exercise of private 
judgment, Jerome and the Protestant Churches, by 
endeavouring to assist and guide it. 

The penalty attached to the crime of exercising 
private judgment, and not submitting implicitly to the 
Church, "was no less awful than the forfeiture .of 
eternal salvation ; and however stern and tremendous 
such a decree must appear, they who had been taught 
that there was but ' one Lord, onefaith, one baptism,' 
and who held, therefore, that he who was not in the 
ark must perish by the deluge, could not, with any 
sincerity, pronounce a more lenient sentence. "t In- 
stead of expressing what the principle here confessed, 
and the praise of it by an Irish Gentleman, excites in 
the mind of the writer, and may excite in the reader, 
I beg attention to the peculiar circumstances under 
which the Church of Rome deals forth her thunder- 
bolts, as they are suggested to the mind by the ex- 
pression " one faith," in the above citation from the 
" Travels." 

The sixth decree of the Council of Ephesus de- 
clared, " that it should not be lawful to utter, write, 
or compose any other faith than that which had been 
defined by the Nicene Fathers ;J and that, should any 
dare to publish any other creed — if bishops, they 
should be degraded from their bishoprics, clerics from 

* Travels, Dedication. f It>id. Vol. I. p. 195. 

t Cone. Gen. Eph. Rom. 1608. 

o 2 



GUIDE TO AN 



their order, and if laics, they should be anathema- 
tized." The Church of Rome has added what may- 
be termed a creed, consisting of twelve articles, to this 
Nicene confession of faith, which had been so care- 
fully guarded ; and instead of shrinking from the ana- 
thema thus incurred, issues, herself, the menace of 
excommunication against all those who will not de- 
spise the Council of Ephesus and submit to the Coun- 
cil of Trent, consenting to believe, that the way of 
salvation is narrowed by twelve restrictions which 
the intolerance of modern times has erected. A brief 
consideration of this exercise of power may not be 
unprofitable. 

In the third session of the Council of Trent it was 
esteemed necessary to make a solemn profession of 
faith, and the Nicene Creed was that in which the 
assembled Fathers exprea^ed their belief, introducing 
the recital of it by the foUowing preamble : " Where- 
fore the symbol of faith which the holy Roman Church 
uses, in which all who profess the faith of Christ of 
necessity agree, the sure and only foundation against 
which the gates of hell shall never prevail, in the 
words in which, in all Churches, it is repeated, the 
Council has thought it proper to recite." The Ni- 
cene Creed follows. Thus, in the year 1546, it was 
declared by a Pope and Council, that " the only sure 
foundation^ ^ was a creed which the Church of Eng- 
land, as well as of Rome, professes. In the year 
1564, the Creed of Pius the Fourth" is promulgated 
to the world — by which it appears, that the declara- 
tion of the former year was impious and false — that 
the creed of Nice and England is not a sure founda- 
tion — and that whoso would be saved must enter 
heaven, branded with the anathema of Ephesus, and 
condemning the third session of the Council of Trent 
— the very council of which especially he swears to 
receive everything delivered, declared, and defined.* 
* Creed of Pius IV. Bui. Inj. Nob. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



163 



Where can such mconsistency find a parallel? But, 
to proceed. 

The first of the articles added to the Nicene Creed 
is a promise to accept, and most firmly retain, all the 
apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, which, it will 
be remembered, have had no stamp of approval set 
upon them, and are accordingly abandoned to the 
caprice of private judgment. The second article is a 
promise to receive also the sacred Scripture, accord- 
ing to that sense in which it is received by the 
Church, whose it is to judge of the true sense and 
interpretation of the holy Scriptures; nor will I ever 
receive and interpret it unless according to the unani- 
mous consent of the Fathers."^ Before commenting 
on this strait engagement, it is right that we compare 
it with the decree in compliance with which it is 
exacted. " The decree concerning the edition and 
use of the sacred Scriptures," passed in the fourth 
session of the Council, prohibited all interpretation 

contrary to that sense which the Church has held 
and holds," " or even contrary to the unanimous 
consent of the Fathers." The decree restricted liberty 
of interpretation, if all the Fathers were unanimous 
in opinion ; but the Creed, in the true spirit of that 
ambition which thinks nothing gained while aught 
remains to gain, allows no exercise of judgment, or 
right of interpretation, wherever any tim of the Fa- 
thers may have happened to differ. The difference 
between the limitations set in these cases will appear 
by a very obvious instance. Many of the Fathers— 
for example, St. Augustine, Chrysostom, Theophilact 
—consider the *'rock" on which our Lord declared 
he would build his Church to be the rock which Peter 
had named — Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of 
the world. Other Fathers have imagined a sense in 
which the declaration might have been applied to 

* Creed of Pius IV. Bui. Inj. Nob. 



164 



GUIDE TO AN 



Peter himself, by whom, in virtue of the gift of the 
keys, the **door of faith was opened" to the first 
Gentile convert, Cornelius. Here, then, v^^as a por- 
tion of Scripture, respecting which the Fathers were 
not unanimous, and which, accordingly, so long as 
the Church pronounced no opinion on its meaning, 
the decree left open to private interpretation. But the 
Creed is mo^e cautious or more tyrannical, and, as it 
were, expunges the expression from the Bible, be- 
cause the Fathers have not all had the same opinion 
of its meaning. To obey the decree, it is necessary 
for a votary to say no more than that he will not, 
where all authorities have approved one sense, em- 
brace a contrary ; although he retains the privilege to 
choose with whom he shall agree, where there is dif- 
ference of opinion. To profess the creed in sincerity, 
he must add — wherever the Fathers, in their freedom, 
have differed as to the meaning of a Scriptural pas- 
sage, I am to regard them as sentinels warning me, 
that, into that region of Scripture, as if pestilence 
were there, I must not enter. How much of the 
Scripture may be opened or shut according to the 
operation of one or other of these regulations, it would 
be no light matter to determine. If Erasmus is to be 
regarded as governed by such a rule as the decree, 
he was safe in believing that Christ is the foundation 
of the Church. If the despotism of the Creed were 
to prevail, not only is his condemnation pronounced 
for ascribing due honour to the Lord, but the anno- 
tators of the Bheimish Testament and their abettors, 
also are damned, for their gloss that the Church was 
builded on Peter. 

But how are the dissenting Fathers to be regarded ? 
According to the Creed of Pius they were all wrong; 
they were all separated from the Church, and be- 
yond the pale of salvation.* Yet they were not de- 

*"This true Catholic faith out of which no one can be 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



165 



clared accursed. No ; many of them were styled 
saints, and are solicited as intercessors with God for 
his creatures. What is to be thought? Was there a 
time when it was not forbidden to study Holy Scrip- 
ture ? Are the limits of this time to be ascertained 
by finding out some point at which men ceased to 
differ in opinion? Did the old Church continue so 
long as the Bible was open ? Did a new Church 
rise in judgment when the Bible became sealed? 
In short, does the Church of Rome pronounce that 
he who shall use the liberty which was enjoyed so 
long as men of reputed sanctity differed in their 
interpretation of Scripture, is, by endeavouring to 
participate in the freedom, and imitate the example 
of the saints to whom he prays, excluded from the 
Church here in earth, and, after this life, consigned 
to everlasting damnation ? 

The superficial may say, that these questions are 
uncalled for ; that the pious men of all ages — the 
clergy, the learned, are free to study Scripture — that 
it is only from the ignorant among the laity its ful- 
ness of instruction is withheld. Every Roman Ca- 
tholic Bishop ts bound even more straitly than the 
meanest of his lay-subjects. He has taken a solemn 
oath that he will observe the articles of that most 
inconsistent creed which pledges him not to receive 
any portion of Scripture in the interpretation of 
which the Fathers were not unanimous, and thus 
taunts his slavery with the astounding intelligence 
that nine parts in ten of the Scriptures, and all the 
Fathers, belong not to the Church in which he is 
fettered, but to the Church where that spirit is with 
whom is liberty. 

There are other inconsistencies in this Creed of 
Pius IV., or of the Council of Trent. The priest- 

savedf^' &c. The conclusion is too well known to need re- 
cital. 



166 



GUIDE TO AN 



hood of the Church of Rome (at least, every priest 
canonically appointed to the care of a parish) has 
sworn not to interpret the Scriptures except accord- 
ing to the unanimous consent of the fathers. The 
obligation thus recognized by an oath on the part of 
the clergy is acknowledged also by the laity of their 
communion."*^ The Council of Trent found it neces- 
sary to publish a list of the Scriptural Books which 
it accounted canonical. Had there been a Canon of 
the Fathers so fixed and so well known, that it was 
unnecessary to enumerate those authorized inter- 
preters ? No ; there is no such recognition of the 
testimonies of ancient witnesses as can enable an 
inquiring and obedient member of the Church of 
Rome to read the Scriptures with the aid of commen- 
tators whom he knows to have been approved. On 
the contrary, by that strange infatuation which so 
often marks the proceedings of those who think infal- 
libility can be lodged in man, the Council of Trent 
has increased the difficulty of discovering orthodox 
expositors, appointing a committee to examine and 
revise all manner of books, and not guarding any, 
even the most venerable, from their censures. 

Some may say, that the labours of the congrega- 
tion of the Index have made the way plain. Inquirers 
have nothing henceforth to do, but purchase an Index 
Expurgatorius, and, straightway, they can discover, 
with infallible certainty, the guides whose unani- 
mous consent shall render it safe for them to hear 
God's answer to the question, what shall they do to 
be saved. This is not so. The congregation of 
the Index (or rather the divines whose researches 
suggested the framing such a congregation) were 

* Lords' Com. March 21, 1825. " Ts the Creed of Piiis 
IV. the Creed acknowledged in the Irish Roman Catholic 
Church ? Right Rev. Dr. Doyle. Yes ? every Catholic 
acknowledges that Creed." 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



167 



appointed and empowered to act in the eighteenth 
session of the Council of Trent. In the twenty-fifth 
their labours were completed, but the Council found 
it inconvenient, in consequence of the multifarious 
nature of their remarks and censures, to examine 
them, and referred the entire matter to the Pope, for 
his decision. 

Thus, the authority with which the Council might 
have invested the Index" was withheld. Its cen- 
sures are not warnings to be of necessity attended to; 
its recommendation is not an infallible guide ; and 
thus, in countries where it is not received, there is the 
mortifying conviction, that, to discover the Fathers 
of the Church whose writings are the approved com- 
ments on Scripture, is a matter wholly impossible, 
until a new Council shall have afforded some assist- 
ance to the inquirer ; and that, in the mean time, he 
is a perjurer, or an apostate from the Church of Rome, 
who shall read a chapter of the Bible. 

Such is the condition of Roman Catholics in Ire- 
land. Here the decisions of the congregation have 
no manner of authority. " The Index Expurgato- 
rius," says Dr. Murray, " has no authority whatever 
in Ireland ; it has never been received in these coun- 
tries ; and I doubt much vi^hether there be ten people 
in Ireland who have ever seen it. It is a sort of 
censorship of books, established in Rome, and it is 
not even received in Spain, where they have a cen- 
sorship of their own ; in these countries p, has no 
force whatever."* How, then, in these countries, 
shall a submissive votary of the Papal Church make 
preparation to read the Scripture ? He is first to 
find out an authoritative recognition of '* the Fa- 
thers,"- — a search not more likely to terminate in 
success than that after ''the fifth veda." He is then 
to find out where these undiscoverable authorities 

* Co3i. Com. May 17, 1825. Most Rev. Dr. Murray. 



168 



GUIDE TO AN 



have been unanimous in opinion, in which, if he can 
succeed, or even if he can show that any one of them 
has been consistent with himself, he may demonstrate 
Dr. Doyle's theorem, that the Creed of Pius IV. and 
the Thirty-nine Articles are synonimous.* When 
he has successfully accomplished this superhuman 
undertaking, he may read the Bible ; but, until then, 
he has solemnly bound himself to eschew God's 
word. Should he violate his oath, the ark in which 
he is said to be safe, while prosecuting his search — 
the ark whose name is mystery — casts him out to 
perish — like that gloomy boat of eastern story, which 
defied the raging of winds and waves, but dreaded 
the breath of prayer ; and, vanishing at the utterance 
of a holy word, gave up to the fury of a merciless 
waste of water, the voyager who, in a moment of 
sore peril, had forgotten his compact of impiety, and 
invoked the name of God. 

And must it be confessed, that, according to the 
creed which every Roman Catholic acknowledges, 
the penalty of everlasting damnation is incurred by 
an inhabitant of this country, if he presume to read 
the Bible ? Perhaps, although he cannot discover 
for himself the Fathers who are recognized as faithful 
and consentient^ commentators, the Church, in ac- 
cordance with another part of his profession, has 
provided against his suffering very grievous incon- 

* " The chief points to be discussed are, the Canon of the 
Sacred Scriptures, faith, justification, the mass, the sacra- 
ments, the authority of tradition, of councils, of the Pope, 
the celibacy of the clergy, language of the liturg}^ invocation 
of saints, respect for images, prayers for the dead. On most 
of these, it appears to me, that there is no essential differ- 
ence between Catholics and Protestants ; the existing diver- 
sity of opinion arises, in most cases, from certain forms of 
words, which admit of satisfactory explanation, or from the 
ignorance or misconceptions which ancient prejudice or ill 
will produce and strengthen, but wiiich could be removed." 
— Letter tc Mr. Robinson. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



169 



venience. He promises to receive the Bible in the 
sense in which the Church receives it. Perhaps the 
Church has made that sense known, and in such a 
form as to render the search for a reHgion among the 
Fathers unnecessary. Alas, no — the votary who 
promises to receive Scripture agreeably to the expla- 
nation of the Church, experiences a new difficulty 
here, — for no such explanation has been vouchsafed.* 
It does not appear that there exists in any language, 
a Bible to which comments are appended, such as 
could properly be styled notes of which the Cliurch 
approves ; which explain the true and acknowledged 
sense of Scripture. What is then to be understood 
by the letter and spirit of the Roman Creed, except 
that it prohibits the reading of Scripture under pe- 
nalty of eternal damnation ? 

But is it found by experience,^that the Bible is a 
sealed book to the Roman Catholics of Ireland ? No. 
The extreme rigour of the law is tempered by mild- 
ness in its execution, and, notwithstanding prohibi- 
tions of such a nature as we have been considering, 
very great numbers of our countrymen, instigated 
by conscience or seduced by Bible Societies, are 
permitted, at their own will, to disregard their obli- 

* Lords' Com. March 21, 1825. *^Have you, in any in- 
stances^ allowed the circulation of the Bible, without notes?" 
Right Rev. J. Doyle — " I do not know that we have." " You 
consider yourselves'pledgedto all matters contained in these 
notes?" "No, not by any means." The notes carry, in 
our editions of the Bible, no weight." Dr. Murray, in the 
course of the same inquiry, was asked, what are the par- 
ticular notes, by what authority prepared, or where are they 
to be found, which, in your opinion, should accompany the 
Bible ?" The answer taught, that, up to May, 1825, no such 
notes existed, and that those now appended to the Bible by 
Dr. Murray have no better than private authority. I have 
myself procured an edition of the Bible, which is now ready 
to be issued, a stereotype edition, with notes auch as I ap- 
prove of" 

P 



170 



GUIDE TO AN 



gations and slay their souls. There are prohibitions 
so inconsistent and absurd as to be inefFectual ; and 
when the Church of Rome appeals to experience, 
and says that she is not to be charged with the guilt 
of sealing the Bible, because, in point of fact, her 
votaries have opened it, she is not acquitting herself 
of having imposed unjust restrictions, but confessing 
that they were so strait as to force all her children 
to " desert the ark" and encounter the deluge." 
Even the Irish Gentleman, who professes so entire 
resignation to the will of his Church, is not able to 
acquiesce in the slavery to which she would consign 
him. Strongly as he asserts, and eloquently as he 
eulogises, the rigid rule which would make the inter- 
pretation of Scripture, by private judgment, death, 
his practice as directly opposes, as his professions 
fully assent to, the antichristian enactment. He, 
without hesitation, advances his own readings of 
Scripture — puts aside, without scruple or notice, the 
version which Trent pronounces authentic, and, upon 
at least one important and remarkable occasion, for- 
mally advances the interpretation of a Protestant 
Divine, as that by which the vulgate, and the Douay, 
and the stereotyped Dublin versions of Dr. Murray, 
are discredited, and the young convert's conjectural 
emendation confirmed.* But not for this is the hand- 
writing of menace in the Creed obliterated. The 
soul that interpreteth shall die, is the legend which 
has been inscribed on the portals of the Church of 
Rome. The seven deadly sins, the four cardinal 
vices, the habits which could justify foul suspicions,t 
all may enter freely — but God's word and man's 
reason are excluded. Is it damnable to doubt that 
such things should not be ? 

* Travels, Vol. I. pp. 249—268. The Travels contain 
many similar inconsistencies. One example is sufficient for 
the purposes of our arg-ument. 

t Travels, Vol.L p. 4. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



171 



CHAPTER XII. 

InfaUlbility. Scripture not to be adduced by Roman Catho- 
lics, because its meaning has been left unsettled — Eras- 
mus—Jerome — Chrysostom. False translation — Creed of 
Pius IV. 

The dogma of infallibility consists of two parts : 
one, that the Church of Christ cannot err; a second, 
that the Church so very highly favoured is the Roman. 
The arguments, by which this doctrine is defended, 
are evidence to prove that the gift of infallibility was 
actually conferred, and reasoning to demonstrate its 
necessity. 

The evidences are, for the most part, Scriptural 
precepts and promises, addressed by our blessed 
Lord to his Church, which are interpreted as if they 
signified, not only that the kingdoms of the world 
are finally to become the kingdoms of God and of 
his Christ, and that in order to their being thus con- 
verted, a religious ministration should be ever main- 
tained, but that the Church so preserved should always 
be visible and never permitted to err. The testimo- 
nies of uninspired writers are adduced, principally, 
to show, that the Church of Rome, has rightful su- 
premacy over all congregations of the faithful, and 
must therefore either possess or participate in the di- 
vine attribute with which the true Church is said to 
be endowed. 

The advocates of Protestant principle, are usually 
so strong in their cause, and so bold in their freedom, 
that they pay little regard to punctilio in any contest 
with their adversaries. Therefore they have willingly 
encountered arguments which their antagonists should 



172 



GUIDE TO AN 



never have been permitted to use, if proprieties were 
observed, and like the hardy cavaliers of more poet- 
ical times have shown love for their opponents by 
conquering them under circumstances in which *'the 
combat" should have been accounted a condescension 
and an indulgence. 

We have no right to complain of the consequences. 
Every argument which industry could discover, or 
ingenuity devise has been broken upon the Pro- 
testant Church ; and the cause of religious freedom 
has been effectually secured against the despotism 
which would counteract the designs of Providence, 
by extinguishing reason in his worshippers, as well 
as against the impious daring which would abuse his 
gifts to licentiousness. But, while important good 
has been attained, one thing has been neglected, 
namely, to remind advocates in the service of the 
Church of Rome, that they have been, in all contro- 
versies, availing themselves of arguments from which, 
if they respected the exactments of their Church, they 
were precluded. 

For example: it used to be said (until I read the 
Travels and learned how they were valued, I thought 
the advocates of Rome had become wiser) that our 
blessed Lord built his Church on Peter. The 
reader need not be alarmed. I have not the least 
idea of engaging in the examination of a passage 
which is so thoroughly understood, and on which, 
since Barrow's Treatise on the Papal Supremacy, 
no additional light has been or need be thrown. 
I adduce the text, not with a notion that it requires 
to be explained, but rather for the purpose of show- 
ing that a Roman Catholic should not advance it. He 
has solemnly pledged himself not to receive any 
Scripture, save according to the unanimous consent 
of the Fathers. What is the unanimous determina- 
tion of the Fathers here ? Are they all agreed with 
St. Augustine? If so,, they pronounce that the 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



178 



foundation of the Church was not Peter. With 
Chry SOS torn ? They pronounce again that Peter was 
not that rock. Do they follow Cyprian or Origen ? 
They affirm that no honour was conferred on Peter 
higher than w^as bestowed on the other apostles, or, 
indeed, it might perhaps be said, higher than is 
granted to every faithful Christian. Are they fol- 
lowers of Jerome ? If his comments on the Gospel 
according to St. Matthew are correctly given, they 
profess to believe, that, in some metaphorical sense, 
the privilege was conferred on Peter. But why 
should I, to no purpose, occupy my reader. The 
judgment of the Fathers is not unanimous as to the 
meaning of any of those passages of Scripture by 
which infallibility is patronized; whosoever, there- 
fore, has been bound not to receive Scripture unless 
according to (nisi juxta) the unanimous agreement of 
these interpreters, is pledged not to ascribe any 
meaning to a passage on which they have differed. 

Indeed, the principle which places *' on their 
parole" if I may use such an expression, certain 
texts of Scripture which have been a kind of house- 
hold troops for controversy, is one which should 
exercise a much wider influence, and, very probably, 
to men of scrupulous conscience and extensive 
inquiry, would shut up the whole Bible. " I will 
never receive Scripture, unless according to the 
unanimous consent of the Fathers." " I admit 
{admitto is the term) Scripture agreeably to the 
interpretation of the Church." Whenever therefore, 
a member of the Church of Rome adduces a Scrip- 
tural passage on which the Fathers have not been 
unanimous, or the Church has not determined, he is 
availing himself of an argument which he had re- 
nounced, and is, by the very fact of using it, confess- 
ing that he believes the Church of Rome in error, 
and that he is a Protestant. 

The reader may be desirous to see some proof of 
p2 



GUIDE TO AN 



that difference in opinion among the Fathers which 
renders it inconsistent with the principles of a 
Roman Catholic to avail himself of expressions in 
Scripture on which the argument for Papal supre- 
macy is grounded. The testimony of Erasmus 
alone should satisfy the Irish Gentleman that there 
was no unanimity on the subject. Indeed, it would 
appear as if the obvious diversity of opinion which 
prevailed among the Fathers was not unknown to 
him, and that in consequence, he has abstained from 
quoting what, without their consent, he was not 
warranted to receive. Perhaps, the abstinence from 
Scripture which is so characteristic a feature of the 
Travels may have had its origin in the Trent con- 
fession. Protestants may be amazed that the Bible 
should not have been the book to which an inquirer 
for religion had immediate recourse, but if they re- 
collected that the inquirer was solemnly pledged not 
to " admit" it, unless according to the explanation 
of his Church — (an explanation which has never 
been given) — not to consult it, unless he had made 
up his mind from the Fathers, (writers who would 
have done much more for him than for themselves 
had they assisted him to so goodly a consummation) 
they would, perhaps, have spared themselves at 
least all feeling of surprise at finding the Bible 
neglected. There are other feelings from which 
they ought not to be free, — such as are naturally 
awakened on witnessing the place assigned by 
professing Christians to the Book of God's Word. 
In the early Councils, the Bible was solemnly placed 
in honour in sight of all, was the standard to which 
reference was invariably made, and by which all 
discrepancies of opinion were reconciled or corrected. 
Now, the Fathers are at the feast, the Bible with 
the neglected solitary at ttie Gate — or, more appro- 
priately for the comparison with early times, the 
Fathers are in counsel — they constitute the legisla- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



175 



tive assembly of the Church, and, when a division 
is called, the unceremonious dismissal, strangers 
WITHDRAW, is addressed to God's Holy Scriptures. 

If our Traveller were under due subjection to the 
principles of his Church, it is not surprising that 
he read not, at least did not refer to the book which 
she has so carefully prohibited. Our wonder should 
be that he cited any passage from Scripture, and 
especially that he did not abstain from all notice of 
the sixth chapter of St. John, placed under the Ban, 
as he must have felt it to be, by St. Augustine's 
commentary, and having occasioned, as is well 
known to every reader of Church history, conside- 
rable distraction to the divines assembled in the 
Council of Trent.* 

* It is probable, that there is scarcely a word in many 
Scriptural expressions applied to the eucharist which has 
not furnished occasion for diversities of opinion. The dis- 
putes wliich have arisen as to the meaning* of the first word 
in the sentence, " This is my body'^ are well known to most 
readers. Protestants urg-ed, that what our blessed Lord 
called "This'^ was the same thing- which he also called his 
body. He took bread, not what had been bread, but was 
then changed, and said this, that is, this bread — is, (not 
shall be) my body, from which it has been contended, that 
no substantial change can be implied in words which indi- 
cate, that what our blessed Saviour held in his hand, to 
which he apphed the pronoun ** this" was, at the same time 
bread and also his body. To meet this argument in proof 
of a figurative interpretation, advocates of the doctrine de- 
clared in the councils of Lateran and Trent, have proposed 
explanations of the vexatious this," equally at variance 
with each other and the truth. The author of the Medulla 
Theologica, seventh edition, published at Nice with appro- 
bation and permission, speaking of the various interpreta- 
tions offered by heretics, admits that the explanations of 
the ''Catholic doctors," have been various also, and, omit- 
ting those of inferior merit, proposes as most satisfactory, 
the explanation ** that by the pronoun * hoc,' or ' hie,' no- 
thing" is denotecFwhich exists in the moment when the word 
is pronounced, but something which exists at the end of the 



176 



GUIDE TO AN 



But, to return from my digression and give proof, 
that those passages of Scripture hy which the Church 
of Rome seeks to justify the papal pretensions, con- 
tain testimonies which, because of the diversity of 
opinion as to their meaning, she should not have ad- 
duced. The reader well acquainted with the subject 
will pardon me while I endeavour, in a brief space, 
to satisfy the less instructed. The Scholium of Eras- 
mus alone on the address to Peter, should be sufficient 
for the occasion. ''On this rock," &c. On this 
rock, that is, on this steadfast profession of faith, 
I will build my Church. In this interpretation, 
Theophylact, and Chrysostom, and St. Augustine 
agree."* 

pronunciation of the expression, and that the form of speech 
before repeated, is to be understood according to the last 
instant of the utterance of the words. Hoc vel "Jiic nihil 
demonstrari quod sit eo tempore quo profertur," &c. Med. 
Theol. Vol. ii. p. 78. Even this mterpretation is to be un- 
derstood in a two-fold sense, the pronoun being" taken either 
substantively, to signify the substance of the body which is 
to be, or adj ectiy ely, which is explained in a manner not at 
all unfavourable to the figurative interpretation. 

1 have alluded to such diversity of opinion merely to illus- 
trate a principle, and shall therefore content myself with 
instancing by a single example, the inaccuracy of the defi- 
nition, by which the Church of Rome explains the pronoun, 

this.^^ If a man hold a paper in his hand and say, *' this" 
(setting Ills signatui'e to it) is a bank note" although it has 
undergone a change in the interval between his first word 
and the last, we account the expression correct ; but if he 
say this" (and then substitute another paper instead of 
that which he first held) " Is a bank note," we consider the 
proposition false and the act a juggle, accounting the term 
one which may be used after an alteration has taken place 
in the quality of the thing to which It was applied, provided 
that the thing itself, that is, the substance of it, has not de- 
parted. Many a tour de phrase must be sought out by 
tiiose who would maintain an indefensible dog-ma. 

" Things bad begun, strengthen themselj^es by ill." 

* Scliol. in S. Mat. Erasmus expresses his surprise that 
til ere are some who distort or divert the expression to the 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



177 



To the names enumerated by Erasmus very many 
of high authority could be added. Origen, for ex- 
ample, denies Peter's exclusive right to the name 
assigned him by our Lord ; affirming that every one 
who believes "in Christ who is the Rock" partakes 
of the qualities for which the name should be given, 
and that thus, all who are Christians have fellowship 
in the name of Peter ; that which was spoken to him 
in the letter being addressed to them in the spirit. I 
very much doubt whether the name of Jerome also 
should not be inserted in such a catalogue. His note 
is as follows : " To Simon who believed in the Rock 
Christ he gave the name of Peter, and, according to 
the metaphor of a Rock it is rightly said to him, I 
will build my Church on thee,^'' For two reasons I 
am disposed to believe, that the two words in italics 
have been intruded upon Jerome's commentary, by 
some of those copiers whom candid writers belong- 
ing to the Church of Rome, as well as Protestants 
have so often complained of. In the first place, such 
words are not said to Peter, as the Roman Catholic 
reader will find by turning to his Bible, even as he 
reads in Dr. Murray's stereotyped edition. It is not 
to be supposed that, in this there is any departure 
from the letter and the spirit of Jerome's translation, 
the Latin Vulgate ; and it recites Christ's promise as 
a declaration that he will build his Church on the 
Rock. To suppose, therefore, that Jerome explains, 
as an expression of our Lord, the words " I will 
build my Church on thee," is to suppose, that the 
commentary on the passage and the translation of it 
were directly at variance ; that he was giving a reason 
for what did not exist. As there is evidently, there- 
pope. Proinde mlror esse qui locum hunc detorqueanl 
ad Romanum Pontificem," &c. The sense in which Eras- 
mus applies it to the Pope, is one in which Protestants may 
concur. 



178 



GUIDE TO AN 



fore, opposition between the translator's text and his 
note, as there is also variance between the first part 
of the note and the second, and as the first part accu- 
rately corresponds with the text, which the second 
contradicts, I am inclined to believe, rather, that the 
transcribers did this injury to the passage, than that 
Jerome, himself, wrote so inconsistently. A second 
reason which induces me to suspect interpolation is, 
that I have found the identical words, " super te," 
intruded into the Latin text of Chrysostom, in order 
to improve his meaning. The orator in a discourse, 
the purport of which was to prove the divinity of our 
blessed Saviour, is enumerating the instances of 
power, and authority, by which he, as it were, as- 
serted his superior title. One of these is giving Peter 
a name ; one is the declaration that he will build a 
Church. '* Thou art Peter ; I will build my Church." 
Thus in the original ; but the Latin translator, not 
thinking the passage furnished enough for his pur- 
pose, boldly intrudes the necessary words. " On thee 
I will build my Church."-^ Transcribers would not, 
dare not, without a certainty of detection, exercise 
so unceremonious authority over Scripture, and, 
hence, perhaps it has come to pass, that Jerome's 
interpretation of Scripture has been permitted to re- 
main, while his note has been constrained to submit 
to the rule of the country and take up the requisite 
portion of alloy. When so daring a liberty was taken 
w^ith a writer who, in the same discourse which was 
thus debased, directly stated that the Church was 
built " on the faith" which Peter ** had confessed, "t 
it is not very hazardous to suppose that Jerome ex- 
perienced a similar alteration, the text of the Scrip- 

* Homllia 55 in Matthseum, Paris edition, A. D, 1603. 
Frontonis Ducoei Societ. lesu. recognita, &c. &;c. also the 
Antwerp Latin edition of 1614. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



179 



ture escaping in the one case, as the original Greek 
in the other, and thus, in each instance, a mean being 
provided, whereby the adulteration is detected. 

However the question is to be decided, it is most 
evident, that the interpretations of the Fathers are of 
such a character as to preclude the professors of the 
Creed of Pius from the production in argument, or 
even from considering in study, the passage on which 
they have differed. On what, then, can they rely 
for the primacy of the Apostle Peter ? On the gift 
of the keys ? Even supposing this to have been a 
peculiar privilege, — it was exercised in the case of 
the first Gentile convert, to whom Peter *' opened 
the door of faith," — the Lord, in his wisdom and 
mercy, influencing by a miracle, the apostle who was 
most bigoted, if we may so say, to Jewish prejudice, 
that he should be foremost in opening the free gospel 
of his crucified Master to all nations and people. 
Will they advance the precept of our Lord, when 
three times Peter expressed his love, as is related in 
the conclusion of the Gospel of St. John ? It is 
strange that the love and mercy of Christ shall be so 
abused to controversy, and that the gracious words 
in which he restores Peter to the place he had for- 
feited, and signifies the restoration to his associates, 
shall be distorted, as if they bestowed, what neither 
Peter ever aspired to, or the other apostles acknow- 
ledged — superiority. But, reason has been abjured, 
and therefore Scripture has been misinterpreted. 
However, the same oath which binds the Romish 
clergy, the same obligation which constrains the 
laity to hold all exercise of private judgment prohi- 
bited, binds them with equal straitness to submit to 
the judgment of the Fathers ; and thus writes St. 
Augustine — " Who afterwards, that from his remote- 
ness he might be brought near, (ex longinquo ut pro- 
pinquus fieret,) heard, after the resurrection, * Lovest 
thou me ?' and said, ' I love.' And thus saying, he 



ISO 



GUIDE TO AN 



was brought near, who, by denying, had removed 
himself; and by a thrice repeated expression of love, 
he became absolved from the thrice repeated denial, 
(solveret trinam vocem negationis)." Can the Scrip- 
ture which is thus explained, be adduced as favouring 
Rome in her controversy with reason ? 

Let no reader imagine that the passages from the 
New Testament to which I have here alluded, and 
others of similar character, could ever, by any inge- 
nuity of fair construction, lend authority to the papal 
claims. In all sincerity, I repeat, that the only rea- 
son why I do not enlarge on their meaning, and show 
that, beyond all cavil or question, they are unser- 
viceable to these pretensions, is, that I do not wish 
to inflict unnecessary tediousness on my reader, and 
that even juvenile controversialists can no longer be 
deceived by citations which are now universally un- 
derstood. I have referred to Scripture, rather as fur- 
nishing occasion to illustrate a general principle, than 
with the idea of being its interpreter. The principle 
.is, that members of the Church of Eome usurp a 
Protestant privilege and deny their own faith, when 
they appeal to Scripture. All are supposed to have 
declared — ecclesiastics have sworn — that they will 
not receive it, unless according to the interpretation 
of the Church ; — the Church has not condescended 
to publish any authentic explanation. They have 
sworn that they will not receive it, except according 
to the unanimous consent of the Fathers-— they have 
no authentic enumeration of these highly exalted in- 
terpreters, and there is scarcely a text in the New 
Testament on which the fathers have been unani- 
mous. The Bible, therefore, committed to the dis- 
cretion of faithful Roman Cathohcs, under an oath, 
that until the Church pronounce, and the Fathers 
agree, they vvill not strive to understand it, must be 
intended for no other purpose than display, — that 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



181 



they may boast before the heretic, how liberally 
knowledge is conceded to them, and employ the 
Scriptures as the daughters of the Vicar of Walvefield 
were to use the guineas which a prudent mother con- 
fided to their keeping, telling them that they might 
sometimes, by well concerted accident, let them be 
seen, but giving the strictest prohibition that they 
were never to change them. 

The title of Roman Catholics to quote Scripture 
being, so evidently, a thing of nought, it was not 
unreasonable to expect that, in adducing testimonies 
from uninspired writers, they would be more than 
ordinarily scrupulous ; and yet, in these they appear 
to be just as eager to press into the service of their 
cause whatever may seem to be useful, and as indif- 
ferent to the issue of a cross-examination, as they 
have shown themselves with respect to the more 
solemn and decisive testimony. The Irish Gentle- 
man has adduced two passages of this character, — 
the one recommended by the name of Optatus, the 
other by the still more ancient and more honoured 
patronage of Irenaeus. He cannot willingly consent 
to resign them, for they are certainly more favourable 
to his purpose than any others he has adduced ; and 
yet, it is only necessary to pay respect to the opinions 
of distinguished members of the Church of Rome, in 
order to become persuaded that neither of these pas- 
sages can, in strict propriety, be ascribed to its re- 
puted author. 

The testimony purporting to be that of Optatus, 
is thus introduced — " In a still more Popish spirit, 
St. Optatus (a Bishop of Mile vis, in the fourth cen- 
tury,) thus writes : — ' You cannot deny that St. 
Peter, the chief of the apostles, established an epis- 
copal chair at Rome. This chair was one, that all 
might preserve unity by the union they had with it ; 
so that whoever set up a chair against it, should be a 
Q 



182 



GUIDE TO AN 



schismatic and an offender.'"'^ This is not a very 
literal translation of the words in the original; but it 
would not, perhaps, have called for censure, were it 
not that a most remarkable expression has been 
omitted. In the Latin, after the words chief or head 
of the apostles, there follows, " whence also he was ^ 
called Cephas," — an expression, in itself, worthy of 
note, because of the strange ignorance of which it 
convicts its author, as also for the commentaries to 
which it has furnished occasion. Another circum- 
stance should also be noticed, namely, that imme- 
diately after the declaration, that the setter up of a 
rival cathedral must be held a schismatic and ^ 
sinner, we have in the passage ascribed to Optatus, 
in the original, a list of the Bishops of Rome, 
ending with the name of Siricius, whom he claims as 
his associate. '* Siricius hodie, qui noster est socius." 

Now it has been proved to demonstration, that 
Siricins was not Bishop of Rome until several years 
after the time in which Optatus wrote his work 
against the Donatists — the work in which the alleged 
passage is found. The date of the work is ascer- 
tained by the testimony of Jerome; and, at that 
date, Damasus was the Roman Bishop, The device 
by which commentators belonging to the Church of 
Rome endeavour to escape from the obvious incon- 
venience of this anachronism, is to allege that some 
individual, in times immediately subsequent to that 
of Optatus, inserted, in copying the saint's treatise, 
a name which completed the catalogue of Roman 
Bishops.t For the derivation of the Apostle Peter's 

* Travels, Vol. I. 

f Annotatio Albaspin^i — Damas, Siricius hodie — Fr. Bal- 
duinus scribit sibi haec videri non Optati esse sed alicujus 
paulo posteum scriptoris. Nam constat Oplatum scripsisse 
hos libros circa annum 370 Siricium vero non fuisse creatum 
Episcopum ante annum 393. See the Paris edition of Op- 
tatus, A. D. 1676, in which the arguments of Balduinus are 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



183 



name, a similar defence is set up. As to what is 
read in Optatus, that Peter, because he was head of 
the apostles, was called Cephas, I have said else- 
where," observes Balduinus, that it is the salaecism 
of a man dreaming, that the Syriac term which sig- 
nifies a ^rock,' is the Greek KB(r)OLkr\, which signifies 
* head.' But I suspect that these words, * wherefore 
he was called Cephas,' belonged to some foolish com- 
ment written unguardedly on the margin, and thence 
by copiers inserted in the text." 

Thus, it is confessed, that two expressions in the 
passage from Optatus — the one preceding, the other 
following those words on which the Irish Gentleman 
places so much reliance — were not written by the 
author to whom they were imputed. Upon what 
testimony, then, is the intermediate portion to be 
received? It would, I am quite ready to admit, be 
unjust to argue from one, or even several inaccu- 
racies, such as are noticed, that the entire text of the 
writer is corrupt; but surely it is most unreasonable 
to adduce the very passage in which two interpola- 
tions are of necessity acknowledged, for the purpose 
of obtaining high authority in favour of a disputed 
doctrine. To say,— a sentence has been interpolated 
— therefore the works of Optatus should be altogether 
rejected, — would be rash and unwarrantable; but it is 
certainly not much more reasonable to argue thus — 
he could not have written a clause which betrays 
gross ignorance — he could not have written a clause 
which is evidently untrue ; but between these two 
spurious expressions there is a passage which pro- 
motes an object which I have at heart, therefore I will 
insist that the testimony it bears is not disparaged by 
the circumstances of falsehood by which it is attended 

also given. In the preface, Philip pus Priorius acknow- 
ledges the gross corruption of the text, and excuses himself 
only by alleging the extreme penury of good copies. 



184 



GUIDE TO AN 



and encompassed; and thus, by the simple process 
of declaring spurious whatever would invalidate my 
argument, and pronouncing genuine whatsoever I find 
it expedient to adopt, I shall have established the va- 
lidity of evidence offered in the name of Optatus, as 
to the supremacy of the Church of Rome. 

Had the passage, ascribed to Optatus respecting 
Rome and the Roman Bishops, been conformable to 
the principle on which his argument against the Do- 
natists has been founded, I should not have insisted 
on its evident and acknowledged spuriousness, I 
should have thought it unwise and unbecoming to 
attempt proving a controverted point of doctrine, by 
a worse than controverted testimony, but would not, 
for the sake of exposing an adversary's want of judg- 
ment, postpone the consideration of matters far more 
important. But, it happens, that the argument of 
Optatus lends no aid whatever to the notion that any 
part of the interpolated passage was of his composi- 
tion. He upbraids the Donatists with their extreme 
presumption in thinking that they alone constituted a 
true Church. " That in a particle of Africa in the 
nook of a small region where you are, it may be, 
amongst us, in the remainder of Africa it cannot be. 
If you will allow it to be only among yourselves, in 
the three Pannonias, in Dacia, Mysia Thracia, Achaia, 
Macedonia, and in all Greece where you are not, it 
will not be, &:c. &:c." "And over innumerable islands 
and provinces which can scarcely be numbered where 
you are not, it cannot be. Where then is the pro- 
priety of the Catholic name, since it is therefore called 
Catholic because it is rational and universal" — " ra- 
tionabilis et ubique diffusa."* 

In this remonstrance, however the word " ratio- 
nabilis" be rendered, whether as implying that the 
Church is to be discerned by the reason, or that it is 



* Opt. Alb. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



185 



subject to rule, it is certain, at least, that no authority 
is ascribed to the Roman Church, or any dignity 
claimed for her. Yet, if the belief of Optatus were 
such as our Traveller imputes to him, what could be 
more rational than that, instead of enumerating all 
those provinces he has named, and censuring the 
pride and uncharitableness which could exclude them 
from Christian communion — he should at once have 
named the city and the Church of Rome, and re- 
proached the heretics with their presumptuous sepa- 
ration from it.. Surely it is suspicious, and " might 
give pause" even to a hardy disputant, that the name 
of Rome, and the claims of honour for the Papal chair 
are not found where it would be, under one supposi- 
tion, most natural to expect them, and that where 
they are met, we meet also expressions which impart 
a character of forgery to everything with which they 
are immediately connected. 

The passage from Irenaeus, as quoted by the Irish 
Gentleman, is as follows : " We can enumerate those 
bishops who were appointed by the Apostles and their 
successors down to ourselves, none of whom taught 
or even knew the wild opinions of those men (here- 
tics.) However, as it would be tedious to enumerate 
the whole list of successions, I shall confine myself 
to that of Rome, the greatest, and most ancient, ayid 
most illustrious Church, founded by the glorious 
Apostles Peter and Paul, receiving from them her 
doctrine which was announced to all men, and which, 
through the succession of her bishops, is C07ne down 
to us. Thus we confound all those who, through 
evil designs, or vain-glory or perverseness, teach what 
they ought not, for to this Church, on account of its 
superior headship, every other must have recourse, 
that is, the faithful of all countries, in which Church 
has been preserved the doctrine delivered by the apos^ 
tles."-^ 

* Travels, Vol. I. p. 31. 

q3 



1B6 



GUIDE TO AN 



A few words may not perhaps be unseasonable on 
the concluding paragraph of this Romish version of 
as cramp a piece of barbarous Latin as ever perplexed 
a translator."^ It assumes the " superior headship" 
of the Church of Rome, and the necessary submission 
of the faithful of all other Churches as acknowledged, 
and proposes, as the only point to be proved or ascer- 
tained, the doctrine and discipline which were held at 
Rome, and which all Christians were bound to follow. 
If this assumption were correct, the name by which 
Irenaeus designated the persons whom he addressed, 
was very unjustly applied. They were not heretics, 
but, on the contrary, true children of the pope. They 
desired only to know what was taught at Rome, and 
were ready, with all submission to receive it. If this 
be an absurdity, and if we must confess, that it was 
against heretics the censures of Irensus were directed, 
it follows, that the argument ascribed to him was 
exceedingly out of place, for he assumes in it, as 
admitted, the very point which, as a champion of 
the Roman Church, he was especially called on to 
defend. 

The translation adopted by Protestant divines has 
no such ill consequences as these attending it. They 
observe that the word " its," which ascribes the su- 
perior headship to the Church of Rome, is an inter- 
polation, and that the expression m.ay, with equal 
justice, be referred to the superiority of the Roman 
metropolis. They translate, or understand the " hav- 
ing recourse," as not at all imipiying submission, but, 
rather, expressing the resort of provincials to the seat 
of sovereign authority, and they conceive Irenaeus to 
argue, that, inasmuch as the members of all Christian 

• Ad banc enim ecclesiam, propter potiorem principalita- 
tem, neccsse est omnem convenire ecclesiam, hoc est eos 
qui sunt un clique fideles in qua semper ab his qui sunt un- 
dique conservata est ea quee est ab Apostoris Traditio. — Adv. 
Haer. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



187 



churches resort to Rome, the seat of power, they be- 
come acquainted with the Roman Church, and find 
that the doctrines of the apostles, as they themselves 
understand them, are preserved in this common cen- 
tre of the Christian world. The meaning or scope 
of the argument thus understood would be, — heretics, 
coming from all parts of the world, have the power 
of learning, what is taught at Rome, and of seeing 
that Roman doctrine corresponds with that of the 
Church of their own country. This was a high ho- 
nour conferred on Rome, but it was because of the 
city, not the Church. If it be said, that the Church, 
also, w^as represented as faithful, the praise was the 
historical testimony of a writer in the second century 
that it had so long been true, not a prophecy that it 
should continue true for sixteen hundred years longer. 
In short, according to this view of the argument, and 
in some degree according to the view taken of it by 
Roman Catholics themselves, Irenaeus refers to Rome 
rather that his reasoning may be simple and brief, 
than because he ascribed to it an authority which he 
does not attempt to prove, and which he could not 
assume without rendering his address to '* heretics" 
preposterous. 

But upon what grounds is it maintained that Ire- 
naeus ever wrote this passage, respecting which there 
has been so eager contention? At best we have but 
the version of a translator who appears singularly 
unsuiled for the ofiice he had undertaken. We have 
portions of the original Greek in which Irenaeus wrote, 
but, for this obscure and barbarous passage, we are 
dependent altogether on the interpreter. And what 
an interpreter! — one w^hose performance is thus de- 
scribed in the dissertation prefixed to the edition of 
the works of Irenaeus published by the Benedictine, 
Rhenatus Massuet. " The style is barbarous, slo- 
venly, and rugged, abounding in solaecisms, ^and in 
many places expressing imperfectly or altogether 



188 



GUIDE TO AN 



incorrectly (aut male omnino) the sentiments of the 
author." It had been proposed as a question whether 
the translation might not have been the work of the 
author himself. Against the supposition, the editor, 
{a Benedictine, be it remembered) indignantly protests, 
insisting that Irenaeus knew his own meaning, which, 
it was quite evident the translator did not, and instanc- 
ing the very passage by which the Irish Gentleman 
proves papal supremacy, as containing proof that the 
translator, (on whose sole testimony its authority 
depends) could not have executed his duty faithfully ; 
inasmuch as, if the translation were correct, the ori- 
ginal contained very gross falsehood.* What must 
the cause be which can set such attainted champion- 
ship in the fore front of its defences. 

But the cause which does not reject the suspicious 
alliance of Jerome's testimony, can assert small title 
to the praise of selection. Jerome, to whose expla- 
nation of Scriptural difficulties, Damasus, bishop of 
Rome, appears to have yielded almost implicit assent, 
whom, indeed, he courted with many flatteries to 
favour him with biblical instruction, affirming " that 
nothing could be a more worthy subject of correspond- 
ence between them," provided it were so arranged 
that the bishop should be the disciple, the presbyter 
his instructor, " that I interrogate, you reply."t Je- 
rome, of whom, the author of his life, contained in 
the Benedictine edition of his works, affirms, that he 
was the mouth of Damasus," J this Jerome who was 

* "If it be applied to time it will be most false.'* " Where- 
fore I scarcely doubt that Irenseus wrote, in Greek, * most 
eminent,* which the interpreter falsely translated most an- 
cient omnium antiquissimse quod si ad fundationes temporis 
referatm% fahissumum erit, &c. &c. Quare vix dubito quin 
Grsece scripient Irenaeus agx^iQT(xr}i^ quod male verterit in- 
terpres, anti quissimse, cum vertendum hie fuisset prsecipuse 
ac principis. Iren. Dissertat praev. Paris 1710. 

t Hier. Par. 1699. \ Ibid. Vol. V. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



189 



as little disposed to be parsimonious in giving praise, 
as he is well known to have been ruthless in censure, 
addressed an epistle to his patron pupil, in which he 
eulogises the Roman Church, under circumstances 
about as favourable to disinterestedness as those in 
which a prime minister may be heard praising the 
king's speech; and, such is the dearth of testimony 
in favour of the papal power, that eulogy, even thus 
obtained, has been put in requisition. 

The most extraordinary part, however, of this hu- 
miliating procedure is, that the quotation from Jerome, 
notwithstanding its complimentary form, is actually 
unfavourable to the doctrine of the papal supremacy. 
The original text, of which the Irish Gentleman has 
presented to his readers, rather a graceful than a cor- 
rect interpretation, is as follows: " Ego nullum pri- 
mum nisi Christum sequens, Beatitudini tuae, id est 
Cathedrae Petri communione consocior, super illam 
petram oedificatam Ecclesiam scio." Here Jerome 
professes that he follows none but Christ, that he is 
in communion with the Church of Rome, and that the 
Church has been built upon that Rock which Peter 
had the honour, before any of the other apostles, to 
name. Surely there is nothing here which favours 
the doctrine of the papal supremacy. Still less does 
it find favour from the epistle, taken generally, out of 
which the expression in the Travels has been selected. 
It commences with an account of the distractions by 
which the Eastern Church was afflicted, and assigns 
these disorders as the reason why Jerome applied 
himself to the bishop of that Church where he had 
been a presbyter, and asserted his unbroken commu- 
nion with it. Indeed, it is scarcely possible not to 
see that he maintained his respect for the Western 
Church, because he approved of its doctrines, not 
because he submitted blindly to its authority. Quo- 
niam vetusto Oriens, Slc. Domini tunicam, &c. dis- 
cerpsit; ideo mihi cathedram Petri etfidem Apostolico 



190 



GUIDE TO AN 



ore laudat^m censui consulendam. Had he found 
true doctrine in the East, it seems evident, he would 
not have thought it necessary to consult the Western 
Churches; but he had been convinced, that error 
abounded in one part of the Christian world, and that 
in another part, sound doctrine prevailed, and this he 
learned not from the teaching or the decrees of those 
whose " infallibility" he had bestowed, or from the 
violence of the party whose persecution he had en- 
dured, but from the study of God's written word and 
by the exercise of private judgment. 

I really and truly feel fatigued as I look upon the 
mass of papers yet untouched in my desk, and preg- 
nant with matter for this most tedious controversy. 
I am sure the reader will rejoice to be spared the 
weariness of perusing them ; and this indulgence, I 
can with a safe conscience afford, inasmuch as the 
sole remaining quotation to which our Traveller could 
have attached any weight, is that which he has ex- 
tracted from the " blessed Cyprian," whose disregard 
of Scripture, it will be remembered, Jerome has 
mildly noticed. Yet, whether from his knowledge 
of the divine word, or because of the notoriety of 
Catholic doctrine, he was prevented from lending 
himself to the advocacy of papal power. Against 
this, he guards, even in the passage which the Irish 
Gentleman has cited from his writings ; in which, 
expressing his belief that the primacy was given to 
Peter, he shows that it was a primacy of name not 
of authority, affirming that *'the other apostles were, 
like Peter, invested with an equal participation of 
honour and power.^^^ It is unnecessary to prove by 
various passages from the writings of this eminent 
Father, that he was most careful and resolute to 
maintain the independence of his own See, and to 
resist and condemn all approaches towards such a 



* Travels, Vol. I. p. 53. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



191 



power as the Vicar of Christ," claims and would 
exercise. The portion of his writings which was 
most favourable to such a claim could furnish nothing 
better than a testimony which, as clearly as words 
could express anticipatory denial, gave it a decided 
contradiction. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Infallibility — Abuse of Freedom — Valentinians — Rationalists 
— Infallible Guide not ascertained — Bellarmine- — Augus- 
tine — Canonical Books of Scripture — Jerome — Council 
of Trent. 

It is unnecessary to quote the argument, by which 
the Irish Gentleman infers the necessity of an un- 
erring guide and implicit submission to his dictates, 
from the abuses of freedom. In this part of his sub- 
ject, he walks with so observant a docility in the 
track of his predecessors, that, to examine his argu- 
ments in detail would be to weary the reader and to 
waste time and space which may be, I trust, much 
better employed. 

The argument in proof of infallibility, because of 
the necessity of an unerring guide, is not in the 
slightest degree disguised or dignified by the manner 
in which our Traveller has represented it. The same 
servile spirit which speaks in the reasonings of the 
humblest and least educated in his Church, appears 
to have been the Irish Gentleman's prompter. Every 
slander which he could gather from every source, he 
has not scrupled to advance against the men who 
dared to think that they were responsible for the gifts 
with which God had blessed them, and that they 
could no more confide to another, the task of think- 



192 



GUIDE TO AN 



ing for them, than they could imitate that easy prince 
whom the Church of Rome delights to honour, be- 
cause he embraced her creed and renounced Protest- 
anism, among whose teachers he could find none to 
equal the liberaUty of his Jesuit friend, who agreed, 
if the Royal votary failed of obtaining heaven in the 
Church of Rome, that he would suffer damnation in 
his stead."* 

It happens, however, that in " the Travels" the 
argument for infallibility, is a little too conclusive. 
Part of the second volume is occupied by a recital 
of the evils which have afflicted Modern Europe, 
springing out of that baleful right of judgment which 
men who think none infallible but God, have felt it 
their duty to exercise. All their errors in speculation 
and practice are traced to this "obstinate rationality" 
in which they would be free, and their impiety is 
held out as a warning to all, that they should eschew 
the perilous privilege of free thought, and embrace 
that protected and patient slavery to which the dan- 
ger of thinking is unknown ; that they should recoil 
from the evils which the Reformation has produced, 
and take shelter in the bosom of a Church to which 
reformation is unwelcome. 

It is, however, an inconsistency, which even in a 
writer so regardless of reason as the Irish Gentleman, 
occasions some little surprise, that the first volume 
of " the Travels" contains a mournful picture of 
heresies which disfigured the early ages of the Church, 
as his second exhibits of those which have sprung 
from the Reformation. How is this to be explained, 
so as not to weaken the argument for infallibility and 
against private judgment ? When the various tribes 
of Gnostics flourished — when Valentinians, and Mar- 
cionites, and Manichaeans, and all the swarms of the 
blasphemers of old, abused Scripture and belied tra- 



* Fifty Reasons, &c. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



193 



dition, and made reason subservient to most frantic 
superstitions, had the dogma of infallibihty been uni- 
versally received ? Was the exercise of private 
judgment universally prohibited ? If such doctrines 
as Rome holds essential, flourished then in ail the 
vigour of early youth, ministered to, also, as it is con-, 
fidently asserted, by frequent and glorious miracles, 
and were yet incapable of controling the extrava- 
gance of the human reason, aad were unaffected by 
the passionate complaint of that Father who mourns 
over a period of universal heresy, — why shall it be 
imputed as a vice to the Eeformation, that it could 
not impose on free minds a restraint, by which, in 
the days of her pride and power, Rome, confessedly 
could not coerce her slaves. Let the most favourable 
account which the orthodox have given, of any early 
heresy, be set up by the side of the angriest repre- 
sentation in which Bousset, or the coarsest of his 
followers, has reviled Protestant sects, and the mo- 
dern error w^ill appear so trivial as hardly to be dis- 
cernible. But indeed the luxta position cannot well 
be m.ade. There is scarcely a schism of the primitive 
times, the account of which it would be possible to 
recite. The accusations are generally of a character 
which we could not describe ; and we m.ust be con- 
tented with a general observation, that religious doc- 
trines were never exhibited in wilder extravagance, 
or the nature of man subdued to deeper degradation, 
than in many of the heresies which, in the earlier 
ages of the Church, assailed and strove to corrupt the 
purity of religion. If such corruptions do not pre- 
judice v/hat is termed the cause of the Church of 
Rome in its powxr, why shall the comparatively 
venial trespasses of modern times be supposed to 
disparage the Reformation. 

But, without paying attention to the fact, that the 
foulest heresies which history records were those of 
primitive times, (heresies, by whose side the errors 

R 



194 



GUIDE TO AN 



of later days appear insignificant as the insects of 
temperate regions seem in comparison with the 
gigantic reptiles of the tropics ;) and without noticing 
the obvious conclusion, that they contradict the doc- 
trines of modern Rome, proving that the judgment 
was not fettered in ancient days, or else that the 
attempt to supersede reason is mischievous, advo- 
cates of papal dominion, our Traveller, as well as 
others, continue to affirm, that, in order to prevent 
error in doctrine and morals, there must be an un- 
erring tribunal on earth, and man must be submissive 
to its decision. A few words upon this often repeated 
allegation may not, perhaps, be altogether unseason- 
able. 

Supposing the Church of Rome infallible in her 
judgment, it would be well for those whose argument 
comprehends the notion that, of necessity, she must 
be so endowed, to inquire what benefits she would 
then be capable of imparting. The first would, pro- 
bably, be such an exposition of doctrine as all must 
understand and confess to be, at the least, authentic. 
So little care has she had to supply such instruction, 
that even among the learned it is a matter of doubt 
how sound doctrine shall be promulgated. Some 
hold that the pope is infallible, and that whatsoever 
he solemnly declares, is to be received as truth. An- 
other party insists that a council, when assembled, is, 
in power, superior to the pope, and that where there 
is difference, (for such things have been,) the council, 
even it proceed to the Pontiff's deposition, is to be 
obeyed. A third sect, who are said to observe the 
"juste milieu," maintain that popes may err, that 
councils may err, but that where both have been con- 
senting, truth has been pronounced. Protestants 
have argued, that such acknowledged diversity of 
opinion m.arks out three great sects in the Church of 
Rome, as broadly distinguished, one from the other, 
as the most divergent communities of the Reforma- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



195 



lion ; the believer of one class having for a religion, 
the bulls, the rescripts, the decreta and decretals, of 
all who have assumed the tiara and been adored* as 

* Let the reader who desires to satisfy himself as to ** the 
adoration of the Pope, consult Le Tableau de la cour de 
Rome," &c. The author of the Travels quotes, Vol. I. 
p. 29f, a very indignant remonstrance addressed by Jerome, 
in reply to a charg-e of idolatry made by Vig-ilantius. ** We 
do 720^ worship, sa3'^s the saint. We do not adore either the 
relics of martyrs, or angels, or cherubim or seraphim, — lest 
we serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is 
blessed for evermore. But we honour the relics of martyrs, 
that our minds may be raised by Him whose martyrs they 
are. We honour them, that this honour may be referred 
to Him who sa}^s, * He that receiveth you, receiveth me.' " 
Ag'ain he exclaims indignantly, Thou madman — who ever 
yet adored the martyrs ? Who ever yet fancied that a mortal 
was a God?^' What is to be said then, for the adoration 
of the pope ?" Is such a ceremony tantamount to acknow- 
ledgment that *^ our Lord God the Pope" was a phrase of 
deliberate adoption. Infallibility should have prevented 
such awkwardness. Mr. Charles Butler's explanation is not 
sufficient. He writes, that " Father Eudeemon Joannes, in 
his Apology for Father Garnet, published in the year 1610, 
informs us, that he found the word ' Deum' in some edi- 
tions of the Gloss, *our Lord God the Pope,' and omitted 
in others ; that he therefore resolved to consult the Zenze- 
lini manuscript, which, he says, might be seen every day, 
and that he found the real reading was our Lord the Pope." 
— Book of the Roman Catholic Church. An explanation like 
this seems only to show how little dependance we can place 
on publications sent forth by the Church of Rome. Although 
the Church of England has no Congregation of the Index, 
the printer who mutilated a Scriptural passage by an omis- 
sion, which, being contrary to the whole tenor of the Bible, 
could not lead to evil, was punished, and his error was cor- 
rected. But, in the infallible Church, with all its apparatus 
of councils and congregations, a blasphemy is suffered to 
appear in authorized books ; and, although more dangerous, 
because in accordance with that ceremony, «*the adoration 
of the pope," which seems so signally to reveal the man 
of sin," is suffered to remain undefended, unexplained^ 
until Protestant sagacity exposes it. 



196 



GUIDE TO AN 



pope ; another taking as his rule of faith, the canons 
of councils to which a full attendance cf ecclesiastics 
gave authority, and rejecting papal decrees, if at va- 
riance with the declarations to which he yielded 
assent ; a third, rejecting bulls not sanctioned by a 
council and councils not approved by a pope, and 
proposing as his rule of faith what has been delivered 
at a council,* wherein the pope presided, by delegate 
or in person. In reply, it is said, that such dis- 
tinctions are of small account — that the differences 
do not involve matters of faith, and that Protestants 

The papal ceremony is not the only object which the bolt 
from Jerome's quiver has struck down. It smites also the 

Adoration of the Cross," and Dr. Murray's defence of it. 

* The estimate in which councils are now held seems to 
be much higher than that in which they were regarded in 
earlier times; Gregory Nazianzum, whose testimony the 
reader may remember as already quoted by the Irish Gen- 
tleman (which establishes the exercise while censuring the 
abuse of private judgment,) appears to have been as little sa- 
tisfied with the exercise of infallibility. He says, Ep. ad. Proc. 
"that he avoids councils because he sees no happy results." 
The manner in which Bellarmine meets the difficulty of 
this phrase is too curious and instructive to be omitted. 
His answer is, " That in the time of Gregory the Great, 

the multiiude of heretical Bishops made it impossible to hold a 
lawful council." De. Cens. Lib. 2. His explanation of a 
passage in the works of St. Augustine is not less remarkable. 
He had said, Lib. De Baptismo, "that former councils may 
be corrected by those subsequent." 

1. Perhaps Augustine understands by ** former" ille- 
gitimate. 

2. Perhaps he means in " matter of fact," in which Coun- 
cils may err. 

3. Perhaps he means in moral precepts wliich may of 
course be changed. Here are three fortasses called up in 
defence of infallibility. Why not admit a fourth, and ac- 
knowledge it to be, perhaps, the opinion of Augustine that 
infallibility was not bestowed on m.an, and that, as may be 
collected from numerous passages in the Father^s works, 
the Scriptures alone, of all books that may be read here on 
earth, contain truth without any mixture of error. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



have no right to cavil, since at all events, each of the 
three classes will agree, that whatever is to be 
rejected, the decrees to which the united sanction of 
pope and council has been given, are of all men to be 
received. Protestants obstinately rejoin, that such 
agreement seems v/ithout authority. They say, if it 
had been definitively pronounced how true doctrine 
was to be authenticated, divisions like these could not 
exist; that where private judgment is so straitly 
coerced, if there were a rule to decide the contro- 
versy, appeals would surely be made to it ; and they 
ask Roman Catholics what infallible testimony, or 
even what authoritative decree from pope and council 
they produce for the location of infallibility ? To 
this question their adversaries have not found it con- 
venient to reply. 

Let it be supposed, however, that in the proceed- 
ings of a general council over which a pope presides, 
in person or by his legates, true doctrine is delivered. 
Where shall we find an accurate report of these im- 
portant and accredited proceedings ? What councils 
possessed authority to determine matters of faith ? 
In what books are their decisions faithfully recorded? 
In the creed of all Roman Catholics," as their pre- 
lates described it, the following profession is made — 
" Likewise all other things delivered, declared, and 
defined by the sacred canons and general councils, 
and especially the Holy Synod of Trent, I, without 
any doubt, receive and profess ; and, at the same 
time, all things contrary thereto, and all heresies con- 
demned, rejected, and anathematized by the Church, I 
also condemn, reject, and anathematize." It will not 
be affirmed that the above clause contains any direc- 
tion whereby the votary can learn the names of the 
councils whose decrees he has thus solemnly pro- 
mised to obey. When he expressed his consent "ifo 
admiV^ the Scriptures in the sense in which the 
Church explained them, he knew, at least, what ha 
r2 



198 



GUIDE TO AN 



was professing, because the books of which it was 
determined thenceforth the canon of Scripture should 
consist, had been enumerated ; but for the councils, 
no similar provision was made ; and the young Irish 
Traveller, who has, with so earnest a desire of repose, 
entered into the harbour of a Church where trouble 
was never more to reach him, must re-trim his shat- 
tered bark, again commence his voyage of discovery, 
and, with the dread of perjury hanging like a thunder 
cloud above him, must not suffer his eyes to sleep, 
or his eyelids to take any rest, until he has discovered 
the canons and councils which he has solemnly un- 
dertaken, without any doubt, to receive and profess. 

When, by an exercise of private judgment, the 
legitimate councils have been discovered, the next 
difficulty is to procure an authentic copy of ^their 
proceedings. The inquirer enters upon this part of 
his task with the warning of Bellarmine to stimulate 
his exertions. " Of this matter," he says, " the 
books of the councils themselves discourse, which, 
nevertheless, have been negligently preserved, and 
abound in many faults, which must be corrected by 
reading the ancients,"* &c. When the Council of 
Trent had determined on its canon of Scripture, it 
thought proper also to determine what copy should 
be held authentic,! and pronouncing in favour of the 
vulgate edition, prohibited any from rejecting it. J 

* Bel. De Cons. f Cone. Tri. Sess. 4. 

^ This was ratlier an awkward exercise of infallibility, 
the anathema lighting" where it could not liave been de- 
signed to fall. That the Canon of Scripture, declared by 
the Council of Trent, was adjusted less by truth than expe- 
diency, it is scarcely necessary to affirm. The inconsistency, 
however of appending an anathema was rather more appa- 
rent than could have been anticipated. It is well known 
that Jerome regarded as canonical those Scriptures only 
which Protestants receive, and held a Protestant opinion 
respecting the Apocryphal books also. " As therefore," 
he writes, "the Cliurch readeth Judith and Tobit, and the 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



199 



No such provision has been made for the records of 
councils ; and thus, the inquirer is left altogether to 
his own judgment and industry to ascertain the 
sources from which he shall learn the doctrines he 
has sworn to embrace. 

Thus far, it is clear, infallibility has been bestowed 
to no purpose. It has not pronounced upon the 
claims of canons and councils to be received, nor has 
it stamped with a character of authenticity any works 
from which their enactments may be learned. Much 
and valuable information may be collected from the 
evidence of Roman Catholic Bishops, (especially from 
that of Dr. Murray and Dr. Doyle,) taken before the 
Parliamentary Committees in the year 1825; and 
serving to show, that, in the first essays of an inqui- 
rer into the doctrines of the Church of Rome, he has 
no better guidance than that of private judgment. 

Books of Maccabees, but does not receive them among the 
Canonical Scriptures^ so likewise it may read these two 
books (the book of Jesus the son of Sirach and the Wisdom 
of Solomon) for the edification of the people, but not as of 
authority for proving any doctrine of rehg-ion." Prefat. in 
Sal. &c. All these books the Church of Rome accounts 
canonical, and pronounces accursed whoever shall not sub- 
mit to her decision. And yet she has canonized Jerome. 
The bard in Madoc speaks of one who, if he saw his country 
wronged, 

" Would feel a pang in heaven." 

This is noble in poetry, but, in plain prose, it is rather 
intolerant to shoot an anathema so high, and to hope that 
Jerome shall consent to remain under the curse of the 
Church of Rome, and in return assist her votaries with the 
effectual intercession of his prayers. 

There are countries wherein living saints and physicians 
have had the walnut tree proverb applied to them, and 
been cudgeled into benignity. The Council of Trent is 
still more unceremonious, and like the Scottish chieftain, 

' * Will right a wrong where'er ^tis given, 
Though it were in the court of heaven," 



GUIDE TO AN 



What, then, is the use of infallibility ? It allows, it 
may be, a choice to be made of instructors who were 
not infallible, whose writings, supposing them origi- 
nally pure, are now full of faults, and who may have 
taught what two parts in three of the unerring Church 
pronounce to be, not only not infallible, but to be 
false, and even heretical. 

It is a favourite figure of rhetoric with Roman 
Catholic controversialists, to demand — can the Bible 
speak? and to say, that, if it could perform the mi- 
racle of uttering a viva voce answer to their inquiries, 
they would submit to its authority. They seem to 
forget, that the decrees of councils are equally mute, 
although they have sworn, and without any reserva- 
tion, to receive them. They forget that tradition has 
not found a voice, and yet they profess most firmly 
to admit and embrace it. Of what use, then, has 
mute infallibility been ? Members of the Church of 
Rome profess to receive tradition. This, from its 
nature, it may be said, could not be committed to 
writing ; but an infallible direction might have been 
given to the sources from which it was to be received, 
and to the marks by which it was to be authenticated. 
No such direction has been afforded. Roman Catho- 
lics profess to admit Scripture according to the sense 
in which the Church receives it. The sense in which 
the Church receives it, she has never condescended 
to make known. They profess to receive, '* without 
any doubt," indubitanter," the councils and canons. 
The infallible Church has not dispelled the doubts 
which render it a matter of difficulty, perhaps it might 
be said a matter impossible, to ascertain the councils 
and canons which are the proper objects of the vota- 
ry's engagement, and to know with certainty, or even 
a high degree of probability, what they require of 
him to believe. What is, then, the benefit derived 
from this boasted infallibility ? Is it not just such a 
patron as Doctor Johnson has described — " one who 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



201 



looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in 
the water, and, when he has reached ground, encum- 
bers him with help." 

And, indeed, even after the first difficulties have 
been overcome, the help which infaUibiUty offers can 
be accounted no better than an encumbrance, super- 
adding to the other disadvantages of Romanism a 
dogma which cannot be defended, and making a 
boastful profession, of which the blasphemy has not 
been extenuated by any compensating advantage. 
Scarcely any members of the Church of Rome will 
deny, that the necessity of that unerring tribunal of 
which they boast, arises out of the weakness and the 
liability to error of the human understanding. Indeed 
this seems acknowledged in the profession to receive 
Scripture agreeably to the interpretation of the Church. 
The defect implied in this declaration must be that in 
the mind of man, not imperfection in God's holy 
Word. Accordingly, it follows, that, unless the 
judgment of every individual were rendered infallible 
to understand, the gift, by which an unerring Church 
is supposed to propound true doctrine, has been be- 
stowed in vain. " If," it has been well said, *' to 
preserve the unity of the Church and to prevent 
schism, this infallibility has been vouchsafed, we 
ought to expect, that by this means, the unity of the 
Church has been preserved, and schism has been 
prevented. The fact is, that schism has been pro- 
moted, and the unity of the Church has been broken 
by it. Besides, even granting that the decisions of 
the Church of Rome are infallible, how can men be 
infallibly certain that they are right in the interpreta- 
tions they have given ? But if any doubt should arise, 
it may be set at rest by another decision. This other 
decision is, however, liable to the same objection. 
And thus, it is within the range of possibility, that 
one infallible certainty may require to be explained 
by a series of infallible certainties without end : that 



202 



GUIDE TO AN 



is^ that men may be left in total uncertainty upon 
the subject, 

Thus, as the same writer observes, even suppos- 
ing that infallibihty were lodged in the pope, it would 
be of little practical advantage. Even granting that 
the pope may, by his infallibility, correct mistakes as 
fast as they occur, how can this exempt his decisions 
from the liability to be mistaken. "t But those who 
adopt this compendious mode of issuing infallible de- 
cisions must embrace also the accompanying incon- 
venience of defending Bulls and Decretals, whose 
quarrel it is better not to take up ; while, for such 
as adhere to the safer rule of regarding nothing infal- 
lible which has not been decreed by pope and council, 
an inconvenience of another character, and perhaps 
of no less magnitude is provided. The difficulties in 
the way of summoning and collecting a council are 
too great to admit of the expectation that such as- 
semblages can be frequent ; and thus, while the liabi- 
lity to error would be the same, the means of correct- 
ing it would be far less attainable. 

I fear I have wearied my reader with an argument 
which may be accounted mere supererogation. The 
dogma of infallibility scarcely needs to be confuted. 
Like that race of ancient Eastern kings, whose abid- 
ing was in the voluptuous recesses of the palace, not 
on the throne or the tribunal, and who demanded only 
to be looked upon in order to be contemned, the pro- 
fane dogma upon which the monarchy of the Church 
of Rome relies, withdrawn from the necessities which 
require its presence, shrined and curtained from vulgar 
view, may retain respect ; but it is scarcely possible, 
that it can be contem^plated steadily in the nineteenth 
century, without being divested of its fictitious, and 
it would not be too much to add, blasphemous au- 
thority. 

* Agency of Divine Providence, &c. p. 200. f Ibid p. 201. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



203 



While, therefore, the Church of Rome, claiming 
the reverence due to infallibility, leaves its votaries 
in total ignorance where this power resides — what it 
has done — how its existence is proved ; it will be 
sufficient here to mention something which it has not 
done. It has not supplied a rule by which apostolic 
tradition can be distinguished. It has not enumerated 
the councils and canons to be received, and taught 
how that which is spurious is to be separated from 
what is authoritative and true. And, above all, it has 
suffered eighteen hundred years to elapse without 
providing an explanation of Scripture, or making it 
possible for any member of the infallible Church, to 
read the Bible without incurring a curse ; or for many 
to read it, without the added guilt of perjury. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Resemblance between the Church of Rome and the Church 
of the Fathers — Lights— Incense, &c. — Worship of Re- 
licea, &c. — Basil — Orig-en — Chrysostom. 

The Irish Gentleman pursued his Travels even in 
dreams, and ascertained to his satisfaction, by the 
unimpeachable evidence of a vision, that in the early 
ages of the Church, the ceremonies of public worship 
differed in no important particular from the Mass of 
Townsend-street Chapel. By the same convincing 
testimony, he discovered that the service of the 
Church of England is different from that of primitive 
times, and that the angel who conducted Hermas 
was not acquainted with Luther. The agreements 
between the present and the past, upon which he 
most delights to dwell, are very edifying. There 
were lights in the Churches of ancient times, because 



204 



GUIDE TO AN 



the darkness rendered them necessary. There are 
lights in Townsend-street Chapel at the present day, 
when no darkness requires them, but when, by their 
aid, young gentlemen may " read the touching story 
of the early Churches." There was incense ^' in 
subterranean places" of old, as a " means of dissipat- 
ing unwholesome odours." Townsend-street Chapel 
is not a subterranean place, but the incense is not for 
this omitted. The Irish Gentleman sprinkles his fore- 
head with water, and remembers the time when salt 
was mixed with it. He is present " when the mys- 
terious sacrifice begins," and remembers when it had 
a different beginning.* When at Townsend-street 
Chapel the priest repeats zvords, he remembers when 
in old times fruits were offered ; and when the priest 
says, " Lift up your hearts," and the people respond 
to him, " We have lifted them up to the Lord," he 
remembers St. Cyprian. 

According to this enumeration, the Romish Church 
at the present day resembles the Church of old in 
using lights and incense, but differs from her in using 
them unnecessarily— resembles her in the use, difiers 
in the neglect of an expression ; and in one instance 
resembles her in using words which of old time offer- 
ed first fruits on the altar, and which are still spoken, 
although they offer fruits no longer. But of all tlie 
resemblances, that by which the Irish Gentleman is 
most deeply affected he finds in the practice of beat- 
ing the breast with the clenched hand at the Confiieor, 
and other parts of the service." The parallel pas- 
sage to this " craw-thumping," as the Irish Gentle- 
man tells us the practice is called, he does not give, 
but contents himself with noticing that St. Augustine 
said, " if we have not breasts, and, beating them, 

* I found myself reminded of the form of words Foris 
Catechumeni, in wliich invariably, as long as the discipline 
of the secret continued, &c. — Travels, Vol. 1. p. 181. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



205 



say, * forgive us our sins,' " &:c/^ Hence our Travel- 
ler infers, that Augustine encouraged the practice 

* The Irish Gentleman prefers the testimony of St. Au- 
gustine to that of Scripture, else he would have referred to 
our Lord's parable of the pubhcan. The minute observances 
of the Pharisee were, perhaps, likely to awaken disagree- 
able remembrances, and to suggest an inconvenient compa- 
rison. The Travels speak of the coarse and contumelious 
term which has been, the author says, applied in Ireland to 
this practice of beating the breast. The term is infinitely 
less general in its use than our Traveller imagines ; indeed 
so unused, that I could undertake to say, I have not for very 
many years once heard it, and I reside where there is a 
dense Protestant population, with all classes of whom I have 
free and confidential intercourse. 

Notliing can be more unlike the practice of early times, 
and of climates not so temperate as ours, than the g-entle 
notices with which, " in the Confiteor," as our Traveller 
observes, modern Roman Catholics salute their breasts. The 
" Confiteor" is a formulary, in which they confess to God, 
and to the blessed Mary, and to tlie holy St. Michael, &c. 
&;c, &,c. that they have sinned. When the enumeration of 
the more honoured saints has been completed, and provision 
made, by a comprehensive sentence, for all who have not 
been specially named, the expression " through my fault'' 
is repeated, and the right hand moves to the breast — a.gain 
the same expression, and the corresponding gesture, a third 
time, and with as little of passion or 'solemnity as attends the 
idlest ceremonial, the parting blow is given. Here the Irish 
Gentleman might have found difference as well as resemblance 
— the resemblance being peculiar to no sect or class ; the dif- 
ference one which his Church may claim as all her own. When 
consciousness of sin and a feeling of penitence has strongly 
affected man, to beat upon his breast is a natural expression 
of passion, which may be employed by all, whether Pro- 
testant or Roman Cathofic, whether publicans in the temple 
or Fathers in the Church, whose emotions are powerful, 
and whose habits and natures are demonstrative. No man, 
whatever his own habits and character may be, can look on 
such an act, performed in the spirit and feeling which sug- 
gests it, with any other feeling than of respect. But where 
it has become a mere form — where not the heart but the 
breast — ^or, to use our Traveller's citation, the craw" is 
s 



206 



GUIDE TO AN 



not more by precept than example, and concludes 
that the saint and the worshippers in Townsend- 
street Chapel beat in unison. 

Is not this rather childish ? If it were desirable to 
compare the religious service now in use with that 
of the early ages, would it not be far better to consult 
the writings of primitive times for the forms of wor- 
ship then observed, than to seek them in the visions 
of distempered slumber ? It really is not quite candid, 
in one who had read Justin Martyr's apology, (and 
who had quoted from his description of Christian 
worship on the Sabbath-day, a passage which ap- 
peared to serve his purpose,) to forget in sleep what 
the context had taught him, and substitute a very 
frivolous and visionary description in place of a com- 
munication sober and full of importance.^ 

thought of and thumped — the resemblance to a practice 
which, in some characters, springs out of true feeling", is 
the grimace of monkeys aping what they cannot feel or un- 
derstand, rather than a gesture performed in a spirit and 
feeling which confer dignity on it, and associate it with the 
external acts of many pious men in all ages, in their solitary 
devotions. In a word, for the gestures which the energy of 
penitence may prompt, a resemblance can be found in an- 
cient days ; for the " craw thumping" ceremony of the 
" Cor.fiteor" our Traveller has found neither likeness nor 
countenance. 

* On the day, as it is called, of the sun, there is an as- 
semblage at the same place of those who live in the country 
and in town, and the commentaries of the apostles, or the 
writings of the prophets are read at convenient length. 
Then when the reader ceases, the presbyter or bishop 
(^rgoscTT^cr) delivers a discourse in which he exhorts the 
people to the imitation of what is good. After this we all 
rise and pour forth our supplications, and, as I have said, 
when the prayers are ended, bread and wine and water are 
offered, and the presbyter, in like manner, offers the thanks- 
giving to his best ability (ocrij Svv^ijLia- dvro)), and the people 
assent, saying Amen. And a distribution and participation 
is made to each of those things which have been blessed, 
and to those not present they are sent by the deacons. Like- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



207 



The Irish Gentleman appears highly scandalized 
at the trivial subjects of contention between the 
Church of England and the Dissenters, and yet the 
nature of the topics on which he has himself been 
pleased to dwell, might well have taught him, that it 
is the mil d which gives consequence to the objects 
which it notices, and that what to one man may 
appear a very small thing, shall to another have a 
character such as compels him to respect it. The 
importance which the Irish Gentleman attached to 
his resemblances need not be described. He care- 
fully sought them out — he meditated upon them — he 
dreamed of them,— and yet the things which were 
of such moment to him, appeared so insignificant to 
the apologist Martyr, that, in his account of the Sab- 
bath service, he has not even noticed them. What 
has he recorded ? The reading of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, so as that all may learn — the prayer in which 
all may join — the exhortation by which the assembly 

wise, those who are more wealthy and are willing, each at 
his own discretion gives what he will, and what is thus col- 
lected is confided to the presbyter, whence he assists orphans 
and widows, and such as from sickness or any other cause 
are in need, those who are in bond, or strangers sojourning ; 
in a word, he is the guardian of all in necessity." — Apol. 
Lib. 2. Paris, 1636. p. 98. 

An expression in the above passage has been supposed to 
favour the notion that, in the time of Justin Martyr, there 
were no written liturgies. The inference is by no means 
just. Indeed the opposite conclusion would be the more 
natural, as one can scarcely be supposed to employ all his 
power on an address or a prayer which he might have pre- 
viously prepared, but for which he trusts to the moment of 
delivery. At a very early age, we find it characteristic of 
Christianity that in the different Churches, forms of prayer 
were used, in all of which there was substantial agreement 
notwithstanding some unimportant differences, and the fact, 
that in each instance, the prayers were the best that could be 
framed does not certainly involve the inference that they 
were consequently extemporaneous. 



208 



GUIDE TO AN 



may be animated, and the eucharist in which the 
faith of all may be strengthened. These things the 
Traveller has not thought worthy of notice ; the 
lights, and incense, and sprinklings, and gesticula- 
tions, have not been described by the Martyr. The 
omissions and the observances in both cases, are 
highly characteristic. 

There must be many Roman Catholics to whom 
the defence set up for them by their Irish advocate 
will occasion deep mortification. Of their doctrines, 
he has no care but to find some writer of antiquity to 
whom they may plausibly be imputed ; for their dis- 
cipline, his sole apology is that it was observed in 
ancient churches ; and yet, in the parallel he pro- 
fessed to institute, everything which could interest 
or edify in the worship of primitive times, is care- 
fully omitted. Is this a tacit admission that with 
such observances, the Rites of the Church he would 
defend, have no similitude. Is all that could touch 
the heart and enlighten the understanding and build 
up faith and morals denied to popery, and can she 
resemble the ancient Church by such contrivances, 
only, as those in which compulsory converts from 
paganism were said to cover the idolatry which they 
cherished still, under an external of Christian forms ?^ 
In ancient days the minister, in a language which the 
people understood, read the Scriptures for their in- 
struction. To-day, in a language which they do not 
understand, the priest reads the Romish Missal. 
Ancient assemblies were rich in the incense of pious 
prayer ; a reasonable service. Townsend-street 

• The Churches were filled with the increashig" multi- 
tude of these unworthy proselytes, who had conformed, 
from temporal motives, to the reigning religion ; and whilst 
they devoutly imitated the postures, and recited the prayers 
of the faithful, they satisfied their consciences by the silent 
and sincere invocation of the Gods of antiquity,*' — Gibbon's 
Decline and Fall^ c. 28. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



200 



Chapel is contented with the less spiritual odours of 
burning censers. In the assemblies of old tinnes, 
the Gospel was preached and hearts were converted ; 
now bells are vehemently tingled, and whether hearts 
be opened or not, breasts are knocked at. In ancient 
days, prayer and charity were inseparably united. 
Now the prayer is such that it may issue from a 
heart where malice dwells, and that it often deepens 
into ungodly and merciless imprecation.* In ancient 
times, there were lights of human contrivance when 
the light of heaven was denied, and unwholesome 
vapours in caverns and tombs were dissipated by the 
smoke of incense. Now the splendour of the noon 
day sun is affronted with the sullen and sulky flames 
of unnecessary tapers, and the pure atmosphere of the 
upper world is loaded with fumes for which no 
necessity is pleaded ; the light and the censer being 
accounted better memorials of elder time than the 
truth of God's word, and the piety of pure wor- 
shippers ;t or, as if, under irresistible constraint, in 

* "Anathema Omnibus HDereticis.^^ 

f The Irish Gentleman does not explain the ceremonies 
of his Church, as they were interpreted by earlier and 
more authoritative expositors. In the use of lights and 
incense ; a practice sneered at by the Protestant as pag-an, 
I hut read the touching- story of the early Church, when 
her children hunted by the persecutor, held their religious 
meetings either at night or in subterranean places, whose 
gloom, of course, rendered the light of tapers necessary, 
and where the fumes of the censor, besides being familiar 
to the people among whom Christianity first sprung, were 
resorted to as a means of dissipating unwholesome odours,'' 
Travels, Vol. 1. p. 180. The approved exposition of lights 
and censors, is very different. " The two candles precede 
the Gospel, because the law and the prophets which pre- 
dicted the Gospel came before it. The two candlesticks 
are the two precepts of charity which are recommended in 
the Gospel. The two acolytes who bear them are Moses 
and Elias, between whom the Lord shone as the sun, in the 
mountain. Whilst the Gospel is read the wax lights are 
.s2 



210 



GUIDE TO AN 



these superfluous observances, confession is made 
that, where popery is, there is night, and that in- 
fluences more unfriendly to life than the pestilent 
vapours of the Charnel-house or the mine, are in her 
" chambers of imagery." 

It was said by one who knew neither the Church 
nor the country of which he spoke, that " popery 
was good enough for Ireland." A time will surely 
come, when Ireland shall have taught scorners to 
speak of her in more respectful language, but it is 
not from such apologies as those of the Traveller 
advocate, that good lesson is to be learned. He has 
assigned to the Church for which he pleads a place, 
which her most contumelious revilers would con- 
temptuously have appointed her, wherein the pious 

deposited on the floor, because the shadows of the law and 
the enigmas of the prophets, are revealed to the humble 
by the light of the Gospel. When the Gospel has been 
read, the candles are extinguished, whilst they are under- 
stood spiritually through the light of the Gospel." Biblio- 
theca Patr. Yol. 10. Protestant Churches think the readmg 
of the Bible in a language understood by the people more 
conducive to knowledge than the lighting or extinguishing 
wax candles, or even setting them on the ground. ** The 
censor is carried before the Gospel, because Christ is de- 
clared sacrificed for us a sweet odour in the fire of the 
passion.'' " For the censor signifies the Lord's body ; when 
burning his divinity ; the fire the holy spirit. If the censor 
be golden, it denotes the Lord's divinity excelling all 
things ; if silver, his humanity adorned with all holiness ; if 
copper, it declares his flesh bix)ken for us ; if iron, it insin- 
uates liis flesh dead ; conquering death in the Resurrection." 
Bibliotheca Patrum. 

Was the Irish Gentleman ashamed of foolery like this ? 
Has he exercised the forbidden right of private judgment 
and taken upon him to be his own interpreter ? In truth 
he has not mended matters. In the approved version, the 
enigma of the wax candles and the censor, however ab- 
surdly and clumsily, were yet piously meant to be remem- 
brances of Christ, To our traveller, they recall no memories 
but those of the charnel-house. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



211 



observances by v/hich the primitive Church made her 
character and her usefuhiess known, are not found, 
and where practices attributed to her, but which in 
her oXvn person or in the testimony of approved ex- 
positors, she never condescended to notice, are most 
ostentatiously paraded. He has claimed for the 
Romish Church alliance with primitive Christianity, 
(a relation of dependance confessed, with laudable 
humility, by a contrite supplicant to the Lord, but 
utterly disgraceful to the Irish Gentleman's cause,) 
entitling her not to sit at meat and share in council, 
to participate in what is edifying and holy, but to 
receive and be contented with what had been rejected 
or unregarded; the dependance of "dogs" who 
"feed on the crumbs that fall from their master's 
table." Indeed it is not unfair to affirm, that accord- 
ing to the Irish Gentleman's report, the treasures of 
Christian antiquity have been divided, and that the 
Church of England has been contented to receive 
those possessions of which God's word allowed, re- 
linquishing ail the glitter of *' attractive paganism," 
to her more gaudy-minded rival. 

But, as may also be collected from the Travels, it 
is doing injustice to the Church of Rome, to think 
her paganism confined to the practice of lighting 
, torches in the day, (a practice indeed not held, in 
pagan times, very characteristic of sobriety,) or to the 
worship of which smoke is so essential an ingredient, 
or the sprinkling of mingled salt and water. There 
are proofs more important even than these, that the 
genius of ancient Rome has returned to her habita- 
tion. The Travels contain a list of " popish abo- 
minations,"* (Abominations is the word ; Quid vetat 
ridentem) in which certain doctrines of the Church 
of Rome are plainly described, and for which a jus- 

• Travels, Vol. I. p. 47. Title of Chapter vii. 



212 



GUIDE TO AN 



tificalion is sought in testimonies taken from early 
Christian and modern infidel writers.* It would be 

f "Itis by those, indeed, who are not in communion 
with either of the contending parties, that the question be- 
tween them has the best chance of being disinterestedly 
decided ; and, on this principle, the testimony of Gibbon 
may be thrown into the same scale as that of Socinus ; the 
infidel, no less than the heresiarch having professed his in- 
ability to withstand the weight of historical evidence that, 
within the first four or five centuries of Christianity, most of 
the leading doctrines of popery were already introduced, 
in theory and in practice." — Travels, Vol. 11. p. 51. 

The Irish Gentleman finds the testimony of Gibbon ser- 
viceable and recommends it, ascribing to its author that 

impartial indifference" for which he had himself taken 
credit. If there were no such standard as the Bible, and 
religions were like rival arts, they might appeal to the 
judgment of an infidel, according to the principle on which 
a blind man was appointed to decide between statuary and 
painting. Having a law and a testimony, Protestants can- 
not betake themselves to a less august tribunal. At the 
same time, they may avail themselves of the Irish Gentle- 
man's concession, and say to him that his chosen umpire. 
Gibbon, has pronounced in their favour. True, he testifies 
that many or most leading doctrines of popery had been 
introduced before the end of the fifth century, but with no 
less distinctness affirms that they were not known in the 
first. With equal plainness he pronounces them corrup- 
tions of the religion taught by Chi-ist and his apostles, and 
even calls up a vision such as that of the young Traveller, 
but for the purpose of exhibiting in very vivid colours, the 
adulterations which Clu-istian doctrine had undergone by 
its dalliance , with heathenism. It may form a good sequel 
to the Irish gentleman's dream of religion in the third 
century. 

** The imagination, which had been raised by a painful 
effort to the contemplation and worship of the universal 
cause, eagerly embraced such inferior objects of adoration, 
as were more proportioned to its gross conceptions and im- 
perfect faculties. The sublime and simple theology of the 
primitive Christians was gradually corrupted ; and the 
monarchy of heaven, already clouded by metaphysical 
subtleties, was degraded by the introduction of a popular 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



213 



a very unnecessary and no doubt unacceptable labour, 
to pay these " Abominations" the compliment of a 
formal review, but a brief moment may not be mis- 
applied in glancing at the species of proof, on which 
a defender of the Church of Rome, is contented to 
rest her pretensions. 

1. Image worship, — Tertullian says that the image 
of Christ was painted on the sacramental cup. St. 
Clement of Alexandria, also, " recommended to 
Christians to wear the figure of a Jish/'^ engraven on 
their rings." — We may leave image worship with its 
defender. 

2. Worship of relics. — The citations are more nu- 
merous. One I select because it sets the doctrine 
respecting this " abomination" in a fuller light than 
is usually thought becoming. Basil. — If any one 
suffer for the name of Christ, his remains are deemed 



mj^hology, which tended to restore the reign of poly- 
theism. 

As the objects of religion were gradually reduced to the 
standard of the imagination, the rites and ceremonies were 
introduced that seemed most powerfully to affect the senses 
of the vulgar. If, in the beginning of the fifth century, Ter- 
tullian, or I.actantius, had been suddenly raised from the 
dead, to assist at the festival of some popular saint, or mar- 
tyr ; they would have gazed with astonishment and indig- 
nation, on the profane spectacle, which had succeeded to the 
pure and spiritual worship of a Christian congregation. As 
soon as the doors of the church were thrown open, they 
must have been offended hy the smoke of incense, the per- 
fume of flowers, and the glare of lamps and tapers, which 
diffused, at noon-day, a gaudy, superfluous, and in their opi' 
nioUt a sacrilegious light. If they approached the balustrade 
of the altar, tliey made their way through the prostrate 
crowd, consisting for the most part of strangers and pil- 
grims, who resorted to the city on the vigil of the feast ; and 
who already felt the intoxication of fanaticism, and, per- 
haps, of wine. — Decline and Fall, 628. 

* The Greek word contained initials representing our Sa- 
viour's name and office. Travels, Vol. I. pp. 44, 303. 



214 



GUIDE TO AN 



precious ; and if any one touch the bones of a mar- 
tyr, he becomes partaker in some degree of his holi- 
ness, on account of the grace residing in them. 
Wherefore precious in the sight of God is the death 
of his saints. Serm. in Psalm cxv." Travels, Vol. 1. 
p. 60. The doctrine, we may infer, of the Church 
of Rome is in unison with this superstition, '* Any 
one who touches the bones of a martyr becomes par- 
taker of his hoHness." I was of opinion that the 
privilege of the well-known burying ground in the 
county of Wicklow was not formally and fully re- 
cognized, and when I heard of the eager contentions 
of rival processions, because each grave could insure 
heaven to no more than seven inhabitants, the eighth, 
perhaps, not touching the bones of the buried martyr, 
I fondly thought, that the strife which often gave 
companions to the departed friend, sprung out of the 
superstitions of an uninstructed people, not from the 
acknowledged tenets of their Church. Now the 
doctrine is avowed. Justly Home holds the apostles 
and evangelists in disesteem. They gave to the 
world their dangerous books, when they took away 
a far surer and more compendious mode of salvation, 
in burying the first martyr's body. Narrowly, no 
doubt, the canonized Ignatius escaped excommunica- 
tion. Had the deacons, who accompanied him, been 
as uncharitable as he, it would not be proper to say 
where his criminal prayers and the censure of an 
offended Church would have conveyed him. So 
the doctrine of the Church is, that any one who 
touches the bones of a martyr becomes partaker of 
his sanctity. 

**It is the bright day that brings forth the adder." 

The time is not long passed, since to impute to 
the Church of Rome doctrines such as her advocate 
challenges old authority to brand upon her, would 
provoke a pause of silent indignation from her chil- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



215 



dren, or most vehement protestations against the 
cruel and cakimnious misrepresentation. A change 
has come, and the advocate of the Irish people and 
the Church of Rome makes it his boast, that they 
beheve and she teaches most profane and disgusting 
superstitions. But Basil was no less superstitious ? 
The relic worship of the Church of Rome would 
never perhaps have been confessed, if the precedent 
of the Saint's example could not be pleaded in its 
favour. It is not upon the practices of modern times 
censure should fall. The Irish Gentleman, if in error, 
is wrong with a light of the early Church, and, for 
his companion's sake, he should be pardoned. 

I wish it were as easy to free Basil from all charge 
of superstition as it is to exculpate him from our 
young Traveller's unguarded accusation. Indeed it 
is rather strange, that the editor who corrected his 
friend's error in falsely ascribing to that Father, the 
passage immediately following the extract I have 
transcribed, did not take the trouble to tell him that 
here also his citation was unfaithful. Every one who 
has had opportunity to examine editions of Basil's 
works has, of course, seen that the reference ap- 
pended to the citation, bears testimony against it. It 
is extracted professedly from his sermon on the cxvth 
Psalm, and no such sermon is to be found. The 
reader may, perhaps, imagine that by this evasive 
reference the Irish Gentleman wished to give an air 
of ridicule to his entire performance, and to insinuate 
that superstitious tenets are ascribed to the ancient 
worthies of the Church as one might impute profli- 
gacy to Mr. Wilberforce, or inconsistency and want 
of public prmciple to Lord Farnham* or Sir Robert 

* The name of this distinguished nobleman has been 
associated by the author of the Travels with the events of 
what has been called the second Reformation in Ireland. 
The conduct which an imperious sense of duty constrained 
his lordship to observe upon that memorable occasion was 



216 



GUIDE TO AN 



Harry Inglis. It is not so ; our Traveller has been 
deceived, and has quoted the expressions from Basil 
as if they should really have been ascribed to him. 
The facts I apprehend to have been, that the pas- 
sage, recited in " the Travels," was found in a work 
which a certain Simeon Metaphrastes professed to 
have compiled from the discourses of Basil — -that the 
scribe who contracted to supply extracts for the de- 
fence of the- Irish faith, thinking the worker in Mo- 
saic not so creditable an authority as the saint whose 
opinion he was bound to furnish, having seen in the 
margin of the scrap sermon a reference which he 
hastily transcribed, appended it to his extract without 
further inquiry, for the vindication of the Father's 
fame, and the exposure of the young Irishman's im- 
prudence. There is no doubt a Homily on the cxvth 

such as can never cause him to feel pain. When the his- 
tory of the " second Reformation" can be written, it will 
record events and circumstances which demonstrated the 
weakness of the Church of Rome, and betrayed the nature 
of the influences on which she is dependent for her seem- 
ing authority, — "sig-ns of the times," which were not dis- 
cerned. The Cavan conversions are spoken of with ridi- 
cule by the superficial as well as by those who have been 
too successful in misdirecting* public opinion. Still they 
cannot sneer away the fact that in the space of a few weeks 
more than 500 persons in one parish renounced the errors 
of the Church of Rome, that more than five hundred re- 
mained faithful to their professions, and that in not a sin- 
gle instance has a conversion been accounted for as effected 
by pecuniary considerations. But it is asked, why are 
there no more conversions — ^the current had set in favoura- 
bly — why has it ceased to flow ? The answer belongs 
rather to politics than to religious controversy — this is not 
the place for it. But thus much may be said. Popery is 
unsound at its heart's core. In its disordered bulk, there 
is a principle which once might have come out in healthy 
Protestantism, which now, it is to be feared, has taken the 
character of infidelity. The prospects of the infallible 
Church will soon be ascertained. The humours wliich are 
drawn to the surface are not the most dangerous. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



217 



Psalm, in an edition of Basil's works, but the title 
under which it is found, does not prove recom- 
mendatory, being as follows : Appendix to the first 
volume of the Works of Basil the Great, containing 
certain works falsely ascribed to him.^^^ — No more 
on the worship of relics. 

3. Invocation of Saints. — On this subject, the 
Travels contain nothing of great moment as testi- 
mony, but much instruction as to the art of preparing 
evidence for a particular occasion. For example, 
Hilary is made to say, " According to Raphael, 
speaking to Tobias, there are angels who serve be- 
fore the face of God, and who convey to him the 
prayers of the suppliant. It is not the character of 
the Deity that stands in need of this intercession, but 
our infirmity does." From the passage, as it is thus 
read, and the heading of the section in which it is 
found, three things might rationally be inferred. 1st, 
That the Book of Tobit was to be accounted as au- 
thority, 2dly, That saints intercede for us, 3dly, 
That we are justified in invoking them. But, be- 
tween the words suppliant" and It," a sentence 
occurs in the original of which we might say that it 
is " necessary for the better understanding." It is 
as follows : This is said, that if we wished to ac- 
count them (angels) to be the eyes, or the ears, or 
the hands, or the feet of God, we may have the au- 
thority of no improbable intelligence." The in- 
firmity to be aided is the weakness of our imagina- 
tion — the intercession is not supplication — the Book 
of Tobit has the authority of no improbable intelli- 
gence, and the invocation of saints is warranted and 
recommended to such and such only as suppose eyes, 
and hands, and ears, and feet, to have consciousness 

* Appendix Toml Primi Operum Basilei Magni com- 
plectens opera quoedam ei falso adscripta. — Benedictine 
Edition. Paris, 1730, 

T 



218 



GUIDE TO AN 



and will, distinct from that of the Being to whom 
they belong, and who make it their practice, because 
they fear to address a superior here in earth, to 
breathe their silent supplications to his foot, and 
think such a mode of petitioning the most likely to 
be successful. Origen is quoted in favour of invoca- 
tion also, and two passages are adduced from him 
with which I mean to conclude this subject. One 
is from his Commentary on the Canticles. We 
may be allowed to say of all the holy men who have 
quitted this life, retaining their charity towards those 
whom they left behind, that they are anxious for 
their salvation, and that the^f assist them by their 
prayers, and their meditation with God." For it is 
written in the Books of the Maccabees, ** This is 
Jeremiah the prophet of God, who always prays for 
the people." Lib. 3, in Can. Cant.'^ The above is 
taken from a work, of which I have been able to 
find no more than a Latin translation. The extract 
is not very correctly given. The words imputed to 
Origen are to the effect, that if we say the Saints, 
&c. ''it will not be inco7ivenient,^^ ascribing no 
higher authority to the Apocryphal Scripture. And 
these are passages adduced to countenance the pro- 
fession of faith, *' that the Saints, reigning together 
with Christ, are to be venerated and invoked, and 
that they offer prayers," <fec. &c. ; and also to the 
denunciation, that whoso does not make this profes- 
sion, cannot be saved. The Fathers claim, on be- 
half of weak human nature, that if the Saints be 
imagined to take a continued interest in the world 
they have left, the imagination may be permitted; 
but the Church of Rome says, if you have not such 
a belief, and do not add to it an invocation which di- 
vides Christ's honour, you cannot be saved. 

But there is a passage from Origen, in which he 



* Travels, Vol. I. p. 5r. 



IRISH GENTLEBIAN. 



219 



directly invokes the Saints. I will fall down on 
my knees, and, not presuming, on account of my 
crimes, to present my prayer to God, I will invoke 
all the Saints to my assistance ^ and ye Saints," 
&:c. — Lib. 2. de. Job.* Is not this invocation ? Yes ; 
but not of Origen. The three books on Job are not 
Origen's, They are published with his works by 
the Benedictine Editors, but published as the writings 
of one whose name is not known, and who certainly 
was not Origen. t 

On this subject it is unnecessary to add more than 
one sentence. To believe that those departed in the 
faith and fear of God are interested in the welfare of 
human beings, sharing in the joy that is felt over one 
sinner that repenteth, is altogether different from a 
belief that it is right to pray to any but God. 

4. Prayers for the Dead. — ^In the citations to prove 
this practice, nothing is more remarkable than the 
want of success in discovering some support for the 
doctrine of Purgatory. Indeed the first quotation, 
that of Cyril, terminates just at the point where an 
expression occurs, wiiich proves decisively that the 
doctrine of a purgatory could not then have been re- 
ceived. " I wish to persuade you by an example ; 
for I know that many say, how is the soul profited,, 
when having departed from this world with sin or 
without." Here was an occasion on which, if pur- 
gatory were the. doctrine of the times, the answer 
was ready. Indeed, were such a doctrine held, the 
doubt could not have arisen.! 

* Travels, Vol.1, p. 58. f Orig-. Ben. 1733. 

4: The Church of England has pronounced no other judg"- 
ment on the custom of prayer for the dead than the tacit 
censure of excluding* such prayers from the liturgy. She 
found no warrant for them in God's Word, and knew that 
there was a strong* tendency towards them in man's nature; 
but seeing how they led towards that doctrine from which 
eventually sprang so much encouragement to vice and irre- 



220 



GUIDE TO AN 



I shall add here but a 5th abomination," — Auri- 
cular Confession. Even Voltaire is enumerated 
among the authorities by whom this practice has 
been approved. I have no doubt, that, under due re- 
gulations, and as disclosures are frequently made to 
the minister in Protestant communions, the practice 
may be useful ; but I have an insuperable objection 
to the theory of confession in the Church of Rome. 
The priests are to become casuists — they must read 
to be instructed, and the works in which information 
is to be acquired, are such as demand much castiga- 
tion. Indeed, if the advocates of Protestant princi- 
ple could imitate the profligate example which has 
been set them, and, regardless of public morals, would 
give parents and husbands an opportunity of seeing 
through what unutterable pollutions preparation may 
be made for the confessional, doubts would soon arise, 
whether, to one class of individuals at least, there 
was not more of danger than of advantage to be ex- 
pected from penitential communications. 

I would not be supposed to insinuate that " the 
Fathers are pure from objectionable doctrine, or even 
from that paganism by which the literature of their 
times had been influenced.* When it is made a 

llgion, she afforded no encouragement to a practice which 
may or may not be convenient, but for which Scripture 
cannot be pleaded, and which has been abused to very evil 
purposes. 

* I do not think an ingenious and industrious man could 
be at any loss to find in the eloquence of modern orators, 
whose Christianity has never been called in question, ex- 
pressions as strong and as seemingly favourable to Popery 
as any genuine passage adduced from the early Fathers in 
defence of "the Abominations." That Chrysostom and 
Basil, and indeed one might say generally, the preachers of 
primitive times, did not subdue their fancies, and adjust 
their expressions according to the exact rules of a severe 
logic, should not be denied, and that, in speaking of the 
memorials of the dead and the glorious " liierarchy of hea- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



221 



boast, that at an early period religion stooped to at- 
tract the Heathen, by an assumption, not less than 
meretricious, of pagan rites and ceremonies, it is not 
difficult to infer disastrous consequences. It was an 
unnatural alliance, and one in which all that was 
weak and passionate in human nature lent assistance 
to the principle of evil. The unhappy results to 
religion — at least the religion of Rome — have been 
permanent. 

Non equitem dorso, non frccniim depulit ore. 

It is a bad defence to make for the paganism of 
modern Rome, that there were individuals more than 
a thousand years since, who also held erroneous 
opinions. 

Nil agit exemplum quod litem lite resolvit. 

When we ask, why do you worship images, it is 
no answer to say that Clement of Alexandria recom- 

ven," they did not suppress emotions by which the sympa- 
thies of the congreg-ation could be awakened, was no more 
than nature would teach us to expect. The necessary 
consequence was, that the discourses of the Fathers are not 
free from the common fate of almost all oratory which aptly 
addressed to an excited audience, has something* of exag- 
geration and extravag-ance to an unimpassioned reader. 
" A friendly eye should never see such faults." I do not 
hesitate to affirm, that the sermons of the late Robert Hall, 
whose Protestantism no man will question, contain passages 
as much to the purpose of the Irish Gentleman as those 
which have been honoured by his selection. We do not 
take the eloquence of that distinguished individual for more 
than he intended it. Ought we before the time^ take ac- 
count of " every idle word," which may have been spoken 
by orators of no less excitable temperament, and exposed 
too, to the added temptations of that matchless and seduc- 
tive language of which it has been finely said, " that it gives 
a soul to the objects of sense, and a body to the abstractions 
of philosophy." 

t2 



222 



GUIDE TO AN 



mended the fashion of setting the figure of a fish in 
rings. Why do yon burn torches in the day? Be- 
cause the ancients burned them at night. Why pol- 
lute pure air with the smoke of censers ? Because 
the ancients used incense where the air was bad. 
Why do you say, that if a man do not believe in a 
purgatory, he must be damned ? Because there were 
men in old times who thought that it was permitted 
to pray for the dead. Why cannot they be saved, 
who do not believe that dead men should be addressed 
in prayer? Because there were in old time, some 
who thought it not culpable to believe, that the de- 
parted were still interested in our welfare. I cannot 
continue the enumeration. If the dogmas of the pre- 
sent day, had a counterpart in ancient error, it would 
aflford them no defence. It is not a noble culprit who 
Welshes to have associates in his condemnation. Yet 
of such a nature is the Irish Gentleman's defence. 
He is contented if he can prove the Fathers pagans. 

Go on, and let me see 
All that disgraced my betters, met in me. 

Even if the doctrines taught in ancient times were 
fully as unscriptural as those by which the Church 
of Rome is distinguished, a better excuse should be 
sought out, if it could possibly be found, than that 
which merely assigns an original to evil; but when 
the effort is vain, to fasten upon the writers of early 
times so grievous an imputation ; when it is found 
that errors of comparatively a venial character, (aris- 
ing out of the weaknesses of nature, and to which, 
those who first held them supplicated indulgence 
rather than demanded assent,) have been magnified 
and distorted into " abominations," which are pro- 
mulgated by the sword, and the dungeon, and the 
stake, where Popery is strong, and by the menace 
of everlasting damnation where she is feeble — it is 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



223 



not too much to say, that the endeavour to bring 
under the same judgment the Fathers of the fifth 
century and the Fathers of Trent, is, at the least, as 
unjustifiable, as it would be in the modern historian 
who should confound the principles of English Free- 
dom with those of French Revolution ; or identify 
Mr. Fox and his supporters in the British House of 
Commons, in feelings and in crimes, with Robes- 
pierre and his associated monsters during the Reign 
of Terror. 



CHAPTER XV. 



Ancient Faith of Ireland — Singular method of Defence— 
Chui-ch of Ireland independent — Baronius — Lanigan— 
Adrian's grant. 

There is not throughout the two volumes of the 
Travels. a more memorable passage than the Epistle 
Dedicatory. " To the people of Ireland, this defence 
of their ancient national faith, is inscribed by their 
devoted servant, the editor of Captain Rock's Me- 
m.oirs." The people of Ireland are not scrupulous 
in their choice of a defender, or as to the nature of 
their defence, if they accept the champion. Through- 
out the seven hundred pages which follow this am- 
bitious dedication, the existence of the Irish people 
and of their faith seems almost forgotten, and among 
the few exceptions to a total oblivion of their cause, 
none are laudatory ; while one is a sarcasm too cruel 
and contemptuous to need the increase of bitterness 
it receives, because an "own familiar friend" has 
spoken it. When I heard eminent, learned, and in 
the repute of the world, estimable men, representing 
the faith, which I had had the misfortune to inherit as 



224 



OtJIDE TO AN 



a system of damnable idolatry, whose doctrines had 
not merely the tendency but the prepense design to 
encourage imposture, perjury, assassination, and all 
other monstrous crimes, I was already prepared hy 
the opinions I had myself formed of my brother pa- 
pists^ to be but too willing a recipient of such accu- 
sations against them from others." What a client 
and cause must an advocate be supposed to have, who 
could avow these insulting suspicions. 

But, perhaps, it was in the person of an adversary 
the Irish Gentleman stigmatized his Church ; perhaps 
he spoke in raillery and only to give higher zest to 
the poignant praises which were to follow. He has 
left no such explanation or defence. The taunt seems 
to have been uttered and forgotten ; the cause of Ire- 
land abandoned. All parts of the world *' from Gades 
to the Ganges," were honoured with the traveller's 
visits. All libraries were explored ; all languages (I 
had almost said) gave their aid to enlarge the travel- 
ler's stores; — the tongue alone of the nation whose 
faith he would defend, is not heard among them; 
neither has the learning of his country obtained the 
tribute of a passing praise. Upon the character of 
those whose defence he volunteered, he has flung one 
withering taunt — on the faith which they profess, he 
has darted a gleam of lurid suspicion, and having thus 
betrayed his associates and their cause, he abstains 
from pleading a single circumstance to mitigate the 
execration his disclosures were calculated to draw 
down on his unfortunate country. 

And this is called a defence," and professes to 
have been made by a " devoted servant." There is 
so much gravity in the style of the Irish Gentleman's 
performance, that it seems hazardous to pronounce it 
a covert assault upon the outworks of the Church of 
Rome: and yet there is much in the Travels to en- 
courage such an idea. In the first place, no peculia- 
rity of that Church is defended. The utmost that is 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



225 



even professedly attempted, is to show that some of 
the doctrines now held by the Church of Rome, and 
condemned by Protestants, were approved by certain 
writers of antiquity, whose opinions may be learned 
in works ascribed to them, and published after pass- 
ing under the necessary revision. Thus, he endea- 
vours to show that the sprinkling with water, the 
practice of crossing— the action of striking the breast 
are orthodox and venerable. This, it is evident, is 
no defence ; even were it established, it could prove 
no more, (if the observances are frivolous or forbid- 
den) than that the present is not the first age of folly 
— but for the weightier matters of the law, the poor 
recommendation of such correspondence has not been 
provided. The " imposture, the perjury, the assas- 
sination, and the other monstrous crimes," which the 
defender suspected to constitute the morals of Popery 
when he could know her only in the characters of her 
children, and which when he had fuller acquaintance 
with her creed, he did not think it convenient to dis- 
claim — he has left without a parallel. 

There is, however, a species of favour shown to 
the ancient creed of Ireland. It has been protected 
alike from the patronage and the suspicions of its 
defender. It has been but once alluded to, and that 
in the dedication. While by a species of forced 
conscription, the Churches of primitive times, on the 
Continent, in Africa, in Asia, have furnished mate- 
rials for the defence," the " ancient faith" of Ireland 
has not contributed a single similitude in acknowledg- 
ment that it made common cause with popery. The 
exemption is the more remarkable, because it is not 
wholly exclusive. The Bible too has been spared, 
the few and unimportant references to Scripture only 
marking and rendering emphatical the systematic 
abstinence to which they form an exception. This 
is a defence — to be comprehended in the same act of 
oblivion with the word of God, and excluded from all 



226 



GUIDE TO AN 



participation in the practices and principles to which 
the defence of the Irish apologist has proved damna- 
tory. 

But, although the ''national faith'' has been thus 
♦ effectually guarded from joining with the Church of 
Rome in her challenges, and being convicted by her 
advocate ; all who love the memory of ancient days 
have just reason to complain, that the Church of Ire- 
land had not the benefit of more than a tacit defence 
against the suspicions cast upon a creed which has 
been most falsely imputed to her. Our early history 
is not inglorious. Ireland had once " a national faith," 
a church ordered in tlxe fair freedom of an independent 
establishment, and although the Irish Gentleman may 
have found it unsuitable to the character of his work 
to allude to a subject on which the pride of his coun- 
trymen might honourably rest, there are some to whom 
a brief, but more direct " defence of the ancient, na- 
tional faith," even from one who has no such recom- 
mendation as the editor of Captain Rock's Memoirs 
can boast, may not be unacceptable. 

There are one or two allegations respecting the 
ancient estate of Ireland so generally acknowledged, 
that it would be a waste of time to attempt establish- 
ing their accuracy. One is, that Christian mission- 
aries were sent from this country to various parts of 
the world, and that the schools of Ireland were in 
such repute as to attract numerous students of ''di- 
vers tongues and nations." The name, also, by 
which Ireland was distinguished, was " the Isle of 
Saints," an appellation not boastfully assumed by 
her own children, but willingly conferred upon her 
by the reverence of foreigners whom she had in- 
structed.* These are matters respecting which it 
would be only a waste of time to offer proof. It is 
also a matter of notoriety to all acquainted with our 

* Prophetically given, some say, in Pagan times. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



227 



national history, that the reputation of its ecclesias- 
tical estate was preserved without a blot, until the 
unsettlement effected by the descents and incursions 
of predatory barbarians had sapped the strength of 
the country, and corrupted the principles of the 
people. 

But while all this is admitted, there is a point which 
must be proved, namely, that, during a portion of the 
time when Ireland was accounted the Isle of Saints, 
while her schools w^ere thronged with foreigners, 
while her missionaries went forth into every region 
and all Christendom honoured her, she was not in 
communion with the Church of Rome. 

I do not enter into an examination of the question, 
whether the patron saint of Ireland had a mission" 
as it is called, from the see of Rome. This is a matter 
which I may consider settled by one who was better 
qualified to illustrate the antiquities of his country, 
than any writer of modern times. But he is re- 
moved, and were I to think of prosecuting his inqui- 
ries, his place would, indeed, be most unworthily 
occupied. I abstain also from reference to testimo- 
nies said to have been borne by Bishops and Pres- 
byters of the Irish Church in primitive times, or to 
discrepancies in doctrine between their creed and 
that of the Church of Rome. Such an examination 
could not be brief if it were at all to be respected. 
Testimonies favourable and testimonies adverse to 
Protestant doctrine by one not scrupulous in his 
selection, could be produced in superfluous and bewil- 
dering abundance, and on the entire mass of evidence, 
the result of careful inquiry, it is probable, would 
draw down suspicion. I confine myself, therefore, 
to a historical statement which seems to furnish irre- 
fragable proof of the independence of the Church of 
Ireland. 

The following passage is from the history of the 
Cardinal Baronius. With one consent (junctis 



228 



GUIDE TO AN 



animis) all the Bishops who were in Ireland stood up 
for the defence of the Three Chapters." They 
added also this iniquity, that when they found the 
Roman Church to have equally adopted the condem- 
nation of those chapters, and to have strengthened by 
its consent the fifth Council, they separated from it, 
and joined themselves to the schismatics who were 
in Italy, or in Africa, or in other regions, haughty in 
a vain confidence that they stood up for the Catholic 
faith, while defending the acts of the Council of 
Chalcedon."^ The importance which the Cardinal 
attached to this separation, the following expression 
will attest. " It happened," he says, "by the envy 
of a foul daemon, that while the Galilean Church was 
illustrious in so many lights, the Church in Ireland, 
which had hitherto been well ordered, was covered 
with thick darkness, suffering shipwreck whilst it did 
not follow that bark of Peter which goes on before 
all, showing the way to the port of safety." Here, 
then, whatever Ireland may have previously been, it 
is most fully and clearly, and with an authority which 
cannot be gainsayed, declared, that she withdrew from 
communion with the Church of Rome; that is to say, 
that she pronounced that Church alien from " the 
Catholic faith." The separation took place in the 
year 556, and, until Adrian the Fourth, by the sword 
of England, and dissension in Ireland, succeeded in 
the assertion of papal prerogative, our Church was 
national and independent. 

It would appear as if strong efforts were made by 
the Church of Rome to win back the Irish into friend- 
ship and communion. At least we have to that effect 
the testimony of Baronius. He has cited passages 
from an Epistle of Gregory the Great to the Bishops 
in Ireland, soliciting them to be reconciled to the 
Church over which he presided. Gregory also sent 

* Baronii, Ann. Cen. 556. 



X 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



229 



a book, written, as he stated, by his predecessor Pe- 
lagius, but of whi?.h he was himself supposed to be 
the author, in defence of the proceedings at the second 
Council of Constantinople. Of the argument enforced 
in this book, Gregory appears to have entertained a 
very high opinion, and says, that if, after reading it, 
the heads of the Irish Church continue unchanged, 

they will show more of obstinacy than of reason." 
All, however, seems to have been ineffectual. No 
ackowJedgment was obtained on the part of the Ec- 
clesiastics in Ireland, in favour of the second Council 
of Constantinople; nor was the object which Gregory 
proposed accomplished, although it was to win the 
Church of Ireland to be reconciled, not to bring it 
under subjection. 

Some members of the Church of Rome have de- 
nied that these solicitations of Gregory were ad- 
dressed to the Irish Bishops. In some editions of 
his v/orks, the words "per Hiberniam" have not 
been found ; and it has been conjectured that the 
circumstances of the Bishops in Istria correspond 
better with the scope and character of the Epistle. 
It matters little to the main argument, how such mat- 
ters are decided. That the Church of Ireland dis- 
continued all connexion with that of Rome, because 
the Roman Church approved the second Council of 
Constantinople, has been placed beyond a doubt. If 
the old editions of Gregory's works are incorrect, 
and the more modern editions authorized in their 
omission of words which describe the Irish Bishops 
as those whom Gregory addressed, it follows only, 
that the documents on which the faith of Roman 
Catholics depend, are extremely uncertain, and that 
the Church of Ireland, in her revolt, or schism, (or 
whatever name the assertion of independence may 
receive,) was undisturbed by supplication to return,, 
as she was unassailed by anathemas upon her breach 
of union. 

V 



230 



GUIDE TO AN 



At the time when this formal separation took place, 
the Church of Ireland appears to have been held in 
honour, nor did its reputation, because of the breach, 
decline. The canons of the first four councils, she 
had received ; against the acknowledgment of the 
fifth, she had remonstrated, and when expostulation 
proved inefiectual, she exercised the privilege of an 
independent Church and separated from those whom 
she could not persuade to be of one mind with her. 
For this, it does not appear that her schools were 
less frequented, or her missionaries held in disesteem. 
The Church of Ireland had still not only a name that 
it lived, but also honourable testimonies that its minis- 
tration was effectual. 

It is to be observed, also, among the attestations to 
the character of the Irish Church, that her children 
adhered steadfastly to her discipline, even when they 
dwelt among those who censured their national ob- 
servances. Thus Columbanus, subsequently to the 
date of the separation, " although living in France, 
continued to observe the Irish mode of computing 
Easter. Some Galilean Bishops," Lanigan continues, 

gave him a great deal of trouble on this account. 
Accordingly, he wrote a letter to the Pope, in which 
he strenuously defends the Irish system, and requests 
his decision on the question, telling hiin^ however, 
that the Western Churches, meaning those of Britain 
and Ireland, will not agree to anything contrary to 
the authority of St. Jerome, whom he considered as 
having approved of the calculation on which it was 
founded. ""^ The Epistle in which this strong decla- 
ration is contained, setting the authority of a learned 
priest above that of the Bishop of Rome, and main- 
taining the dignity of the Irish Church, as not second 
to that of the Gallican or the Roman — at least deny- m 
ing the right of any Church to exercise authority 1 



* Lan. Ecc. Hist. Vol. II. p. 270. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



231 



over her,*— would not have been tolerated, if her 
separation had not been accounted a guilty schism. 

Nor was it by adherence to points of discipline 
alone, the Irish Church was honorably distinguished. 
Her children not only maintained, in the stranger's 
land, the questioned observances of their national 
Church, but they dared to disregard the fashion by 
which Christian literature was degraded, and to be 
wise in a frivolous generation. The testimony of the 
historian Mosheim, aUhough well known, is yet so 
pertinent to the occasion, and, may I add, so gratify- 
ing to one whose defence of the ancient faith would 
not be exactly in the spirit of the Irish Gentleman's 
apology, that I cannot refrain from transcribing it. 
**The Irish or Hibernians, who in this century (the 
eighth) were known by the name of Scots, were the 
only divines who refused to dishonour their reason, 
by submitting it implicitly to the dictates of authority. 
Naturally subtle and sagacious, they applied their 
philosophy, such as it was, to the illustration of the 
truth and doctrines of religion^ — a method which was 
generally abhorred and exploded in all other nations." 
From time to time, we can find in ecclesiastical his- 
tory proofs that the independence of the Irish Church, 
and its dignity, were vindicated, in the conduct of the 
Hibernians, during the eighth and ninth centuries. 
In the darkness that ensued, they became partially 
obscured, until in the beginning of the twelfth cen- 
tury the Church of Ireland was again, and in extra- 
ordinary circumstances, brought under the notice of 
the general reader. 

The grant of Adrian, to his countryman Henry 
the Second, is too well known to require or justify 

* This is the more correct expression. The testimonies 
are numerous, that the Bishopric of Rome was first in the 
order of precedence in the Western part of Europe. It 
was when that See added power to dignity, "mystery'^ was 
revealed. 



232 



GUIDE TO AN 



any prolonged detail. A few brief extracts from the 
Bull, upon which so important consequences waited, 
will be sufficient to explain its connection with the 
defence of the ancient national faith." "There is 
no doubt," the Pope declares, "but that Ireland, and 
all the islands on which Christ the Sun of Righteous- 
ness hath shov/n, and which have received the doc- 
trines of the Christian faith, do belong to the juris- 
diction of St. Peter, and of the holy Roman Church, 
as your Excellency also doth acknowledge. And 
therefore we are the more solicitous to propagate the 
righteous plantation of faith in this land." No such 
doctrine as of the jurisdiction of the Roman Church 
was asserted, when Ireland, in a purer age, separated 
from communion with it. The solicitude "to propa- 
gate the righteous plantation of faith," he, is 
strangely at variance with the testimonies which had 
in better times been borne to the faith and piety of 
the Isle of Saints. " We therefore," the Bull in the 
same spirit declares, " with that grace and acceptance 
suited to your pious and laudable design, and favoura- 
bly assenting to your petition, do hold it good and 
acceptable, that for extending the borders of the 
Church, restraining the progress of vice, for the cor- 
rection of manners, the planting of virtue, you enter 
this island, and execute therein whatever shall pertain 
to the honour of God and welfare of the land, and 
that the people of this land receive you honourably, 
and reverence you as their Lord." 

Thus it is clear that Henry entered into Ireland 
for the purpose of " enlarging the borders of the 
Church." The condition, also, is well known, which 
the Bull recites, " that you are willing to pay from 
each house a yearly pension of one penny to St. 
Peter." If we have the testimony of a papal his- 
torian, that there was a time when Ireland separated 
from Rome, and would not hold communion with 
her, much less acknov/ledge her superiority, we have 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



233 



here the vindictive corroboration of the Papal See 
authorizing a Norman Prince to enlarge the borders 
of the Church," and thus declaring that those borders 
had not previously comprehended Ireland. 

Doctor Lanigan expresses an angry astonishment 
that Adrian should have listened to the representa- 
tions made in Henry's behalf, while he must have 
had positive knowledge that they were incorrect. 
John of Salisbury, he says, " addressing the pope 
in the king's name, asked him for permission for his 
master to take possession of Ireland, for the purpose 
of enlarging the boundaries of the Church, of an- 
nouncing to unlearned and rude persons the truth of 
the Christian faith, and extirpating the weeds of 
vice from the field of the Lord."* The historian 
utters an indignant exclamation, and proceeds, "It is 
strange that the pope could have listened to such 
stuff, while he knew that Palliums had been sent, 
only three or four years before that time, to Ireland, 
by his patron and benefactor. Pope Eugenius the 
Third," &c. &;c. Had the word " believed" been a 
substitute for listened," the expression would have 
been more correct. It was not strange that an am- 
bitious Bishop of Rome should have listened to any 
representation which justified an exercise of power, 
or encouraged the assertion of high prerogative. 
Indeed, the Bull of Adrian may be looked upon as 
the last act in the series of endeavours to bring the 
Church of Ireland into connection with, and under 
subjection to, the Roman See. The epistle of Hil- 
debrand to the nobles and prelates of Ireland, was 
followed up by such measures as were calculated to 
induce a peaceful and willing recognition of his au- 
thority. It is easy to imagine the species of seduc- 
tion to which the Irish Ecclesiastics were exposed. 
War and adversity had reduced their power and 



*Lanigan'3 Ecc. His. Vol. IV. p. 159. 
u 2 



234 



GUIDE TO AN 



deteriorated their character. They were no longer 
the wise and learned body which the first invasion 
of the northern spoiler had found them ; they no 
longer experienced the same consideration in a coun- 
try where order had been very grievously shaken. 
They could easily be taught to understand how very 
greatly it might advance their interests to become 
united with a Church ^vhose power was now acknow- 
ledged in all other parts of Europe, and by whose 
interference that respect and just dealing could be 
compelled from their semi-barbarous and demoralized 
chieftains, which, relying on their own merits and 
exertions, they were hopeless of obtaining. Yet, 
notwithstanding the favourable circumstances of a 
conjuncture, when Rome was most powerful, subtle, 
and rapacious, and the Irish ecclesiastical polity, if 
not in actual debasement, in the sorest distress ; it 
was to the sword recourse was had, for the purpose 
of obtaining authority over an island which eighty 
years of disaster and intrigue had not been able to 
reduce Avithin ''the borders of the Church." 

My limits are too circumscribed to admit of an 
ample consideration of the means adopted to intro- 
duce into this country the practices of the Roman 
Church. The labours of Gillebert bishop of Limerick, 
and of Malachy bishop of Down, the graduel intro- 
duction of the Roman discipline, the circumstances 
under which the pall was solicited and obtained for 
the bishopric of Armagh, for the first time, in the 
twelfth century, the answer returned to an applica- 
tion on behalf of the Church of Cashel, in which the 
pope shov/ed his desire to obtain a formal recognition 
of his power from the Irish bishops,^ and finally the 

* " St. Malaclii then applied for the confirmation of the 
new Metropolitan See (Cashel) which was immediately 
granted ; but on applying also for the Pallium, the Pope 
replied : ** This is a matter which must be transacted with 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



235 



Canon of the Synod of Cashel, A. D. 1172, that all 
divine matters be henceforth conducted agreeably to 
the practices of the holy Church according as ob- 
served by the Anglican Church," are pregnant with 
assurance of the ancient independence of the national 
Church in Ireland, and of the contrivances by which 
its freedom was annihilated. 

I shall conclude my notice of evidence on this sub- 
ject, by reminding the reader of the unmeasured and 
indecent abuse with which Cambrensis reviled the 
Irish Church and people for their disobedience to the 
Papal See, because they did not pay Peter's pence," 
<fc;c., and of the decisive fact that, when in the reign 
of Richard I. a legate was appointed for Ireland, his 
jurisdiction was limited to that part of the country 
over which the sway of England had been extended.* 

It would not, however, be just to omit all notice of 
an objection which has sometimes been urged against 
the affirmation that the Irish Church was indepen- 
dent. An old Canon has been cited to prove that it 
acknowledged the Supremacy of the Roman See, and, 
although considerable doubt has been entertained and 
expressed respecting the genuineness of many of 

great solemnity. Do you, suramoning the bishops and clergy 
mid the chiefs of your country, celebrate a general council, 
and after ye shall all have agreed on this point, apply for the 
Pallium, by means of respectable persons, and it shall be 
given you." — Lanigan Ecc. His. Vol. IV. 27. The hesita- 
tion of the pope has been ascribed to a dread, that there was 
not in Ireland a disposition to receive his gift of the Pallium 
with suitable respect. His ready condescension to the re- 
quest of Malachi on behalf of Armagh, and his unwilling- 
ness to yield a similar indulgence in favour of Cashel until 
he were better assured of the disposition to receive his 
favours than he could be by the northern bishop, may fa- 
vour the supposition. It is however equally probable, that 
he was desirous to obtain a public and general acknowledg- 
ment of his supremacy. 
* Columb. Hist. Add. . 



236 



GUIDE TO AN 



these ancient regulations, it may not be without its 
use to show the species of evidence by which the 
advocates of the Papal power would confirm their 
assertions. The Canon is attributed to a Synod 0= 
Auxilius, Patricins, Secundinus, and Benignus, and 
is to the following effect : " Should any very difiicul 
cause arise, upon which the Scottish people cannot 
decide (atque ignota cnnctis Scotorum gentium ju- 
dicus) it is to be duly referred to the See of the Arch- 
bishop of the Hibernians, that is, of St. Patrick, and 
the examination of the prelate or priest, (hujus antis- 
titis examinationem.) But if, in that See with its 
wise men (Sed in ilia cum suis sapientibus) such 
cause of the aforesaid business cannot easily be ad- 
justed, we desire that it is to be sent to the Apostolic 
See, that is, to the chair of Peter having the autho- 
rity of the City of Rome." Hence Doctor Lanigan 
infers not only the Primacy of Armagh, but also, 
** that the Irish Church did from the beginning ac- 
knowledge the supremacy of the See of Rome.— 
Otherwise," he asks, would it have referred its 
difficult questions to a See so distant from Ireland, 
while at that period there were several eminent 
Churches much nearer to us, such as those of Tours, 
Toledo, &c. unless a peculiar prerogative were be- 
lieved to belong to the chair of St. Peter ?"* I shall 
wave all consideration of the doubts which the histo- 
rian throws on the date of the Canon, and regarding 
it as authentic and genuine, endeavour to answer his 
question. 

There are questions to which a question not only 
supplies, but is, the most appropriate reply ; perhaps 
this is one of them. A Roman Catholic, in the creed 
of Pius the Fourth, promises and swears true obedi- 
ence to the pope. Could such an obligation have 
been known, when the Bishop of Rome was ap- 



* Lanig-an Ecc. Hist. Vol. II, p. 391. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



237 



pointed to be the arbitrator in cases upon which the 
Irish Churches could not agree, and when the ap- 
pointment was made to rest on the authority of four 
individuals ? Does not the document ascribed to these 
divines bear all the characters of independence ? Does 
it not imply that of their own free will they selected 
an arbitrator, that, by their authority alone, and not 
by any previous rule to whose constraint they sub- 
mitted, not by any religious principle which all were 
bound to recognize, it was thenceforth determined, 
that whenever the Churches in Ireland conceived a 
cause too difficult for their adjudication, and were in 
need of foreign council, they should seek it at the 
See which was second in dignity to no other, and 
was acknowledged to be highest in rank of all the 
Western Churches? 

Surely, the dignity of the Roman Church furnishes 
an abundant reply to Dr. Lanigan's question. Neither 
Tours nor Toledo w^ere of equal eminence with 
Rome, nor could the greater convenience of consult- 
ing with any of the Continental Churches be a suf- 
ficient reason for debarring Ireland from availing her- 
self of assistance from the See which had precedence 
before them all. It is indeed probable, that conve- 
nience was but little consulted in framing the canon ; 
that it was accounted desirable, rather, to discourage 
applications out of which foreign influence might 
grow, and to deny facilities by which the indolent 
and unlearned could escape from the labour of thought 
and study. It is not by any means unreasonable to 
suppose that the very remoteness of Rome recom- 
mended its arbitration. The influence of a distant 
see was less to be apprehended, and the practice of 
appealing attended by much labour and expense was 
less likely to become inveterate. If the framers of 
the canon were influenced by considerations of this 
character, their providence has been vindicated in 
the result, the argument from appeals to the Church 



238 



GUIDE TO AN 



of Rome being, to the advocates of papal power, of 
a very unsatisfactory nature, and the authority of the 
Roman Bishop being in the end, forced upon an 
unwiUing people, by that civil sword which, it is 
strongly insisted by those who swear to pay him true 
obedience, the pope ought not to employ. 

History does not furnish a more striking example 
of retributive justice than it displays in its records of 
Ireland. When a British Monarch, as the vassal and 
minister of an imperious prelate, conducted his armies 
into this land, he found a people whose especial 
honour it was, that they alone, of all the nations of 
Europe had a national Church. Against the exis- 
tence of this independent ministration, artifice and 
force were exerted ; calumny seems as if it had been 
encouraged to defame " the ancient national faith," 
and the valour and the violence of a haughty and ex- 
asperated soldiery were not slack to execute ven- 
geance. For a time, where England was, there was 
Popery ; where, amid distresses and disunion, the 
cause of Ireland was maintained, there, still, a national 
Church subsisted. A change took place, and the 
Bishop of Rome, whose power, in better times, had 
been resisted, or whose authority had been denied, 
viewed in a new relation, as an enemy of the con- 
queror, came to be regarded as an ally and a protec- 
tor. Finally, when England was instructed in a 
purer faith, and had shaken off the yoke which she 
had been the instrument to place upon the reluctant 
Churches of Ireland, her own works rose in the judg- 
ment against her, and, at this day, she has the mor- 
tification to see, that the influence of Popery is 
mightier and its principles more intolerant, in the 
country upon which the force of her arms inflicted 
it, than in any other portion of the civilized world. 

But, perhaps, one of the most remarkable charac- 
teristics of the debasement into which Ireland has 
been degraded is, that extreme of servility, " the for- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



239 



getfulness of her free day," to which crime and ad- 
versity have reduced her. When the degenerate 
Grecian kindles at the thought of Lacedaemon or 
Athens, nay, when the slave under the lash of a cruel 
taskmaster bethinks him of the barbarism in which 
he was free, there is a principle of elevation in his 
remembrances which protects him from abasement, 
but when an Irishman, in his religious and his na- 
tional feelings, is inflamed with ardent zeal in minis- 
tering to the grandeur of that power which smote the 
independence and eclipsed the glory of his Church 
and nation, his prejudices are baser than any igno- 
bility of condition. What language can adequately 
describe the boldness of one, who, professing to de- 
fend the ancient faith of Ireland, beguiles his unsus- 
pecting readers into a daring and elaborate argument 
in defence of that Church by which her ancient faith 
was extinguished ; what can account for his temerity, 
if it be not the character of a people who will accept 
and eulogize this foul scorn to the monuments wherein 
the history of their country is venerable. 

I once fondly cherished the hope that I should see 
a real defence of my country's ancient faith^ — a de- 
fence in which the renown of the mighty men who 
had rendered their nation illustrious, would have been 
called forth from obscurity, and their reputation vin- 
dicated against scepticism and fable — but he is gone 
whose thoughts dwelt amidst national remembrances, 
to whom the stories and the sentiments of those who 
enlightened our early day, were dear and familiar, 
and the defence of the ancient national faith of Ire- 
land is confided to an adventurous and misguided 
youth, to whom it does not appear that even the 
names of the saintly train, w^hose light was glorious 
in the days of old, have ever been made known. 

But, that I may conclude this painful subject, I 
would entreat the reader who may have perused the 



240 



GUIDE TO AN 



two volumes of the defence/' to pause and reflect 
whether, in any single passage the ancient faith of 
Ireland has been honoured with even the most unce- 
remonious notice. Will it be said that the faith of 
this country was the same with that of Rome, and 
that the interests of both are cared for m the advocacy 
of either? It was not becoming to discard all Irish 
testimony in a professed defence of the Irish faith, 
and it V7as imprudent to assume, as a matter which 
admitted of no dispute, that the Church which history 
represents as independent, while the rest of Europe 
was enslaved, was the only ecclesiastical system of 
whose ancient subserviency to the Papal power, proof 
was unnecessary. What can be the meaning which 
the Irish Gentleman ascribes to " ancient?" Is his 
antiquity no older than the days of Adrian ? Or what 
has Rome done — what benefits has she conferred, 
that the promised defence of our ancient national faith 
should have been thus postponed for her, that among 
the testimonies borne by various tongues and nations, 
the sages and saints of Ireland shall have been com- 
manded to keep silence ? What has Rome conferred 
upon our ancient Church ? Do we see reason to be 
thankful for her instructions or her protection? Are 
we indebted to her for the wise men who rendered 
the national faith" an object of veneration in foreign 
lands, or for the no less illustrious sages to whose 
wisdom the learned of distant regions resorted ! No ; 
the period of glory was also the period of inde- 
pendence, and the Irishman who can make or adopt 
such a defence as that of the juvenile apologist, must 
have quaffed oblivion to the ancient faith of his coun- 
try, and, forgetting the honours of eight hundred 
splendid years, must commence his aera of national 
pride with the aUiance between Adrian and Henry 
the Second, and the undertaking of the British 
monarch to " enlarge the borders of the Church," 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



241 



and impart an approved ancient national faith" to 
Ireland, on the lances of his Norman adventurers.-^ 

There was once, as the story books say, but, as I 
believe in this particular instance, truth affirms, in 
Dubhn, a man who professed himseh'' a convert from 
the Church of Rome, and who, for many years, led 
a life by which he became conspicuous as an example 
of piety, and acquired considerable influence over the 
minds of Protestants, who believed his zeal to be 
pure and holy. He was of humble rank, and of edu- 
cation lowly as his estate; but a seemingly steadfast 
faith, and a most exemplary demeanor, recommended 
him to the notice and esteem of the wise and noble, 
and won reverence for him from numbers who were 
of his own condition. While he lived in this odour 
of sanctity, as, on a day of public fast or thanksgiving, 
he walked down the crowded aisle of Christ Church, 
where multitudes, before departing, waited to gaze on 
the holy convert, as he passed with slow step, and 
eyes which noticed nothing earthly, those who were 
nearest beheld him suddenly start and turn his agi- 
tated looks upwards, and then, to the consternation 
of the crowded assembly, fall to the ground as if a 
thunderbolt had crushed him. All was alarm and 
confusion. At length the holy man recovered life and 
his faculties, and explained to a wondering audience 
the cause of his affliction. He had been a hypocrite 
for nine years, professing attachment to the Church 

• 1 have thought it adviseable to confine my proofs, that 
Ireland was not governed in spirituals by the Charch of 
Rome, to the assertion of the independence of her Church. 
The examination of doctrines would be equally available, to 
establish the parity of our national faith, but it should be 
. more extensive than my limits would permit. It is much to 
be desired, that in the publication of Archbishop Usher's 
works, the University will print, in such a form as may 
render it accessible to all students, his dissertation on the 
ancient religion of Great Britain and Ireland. 

X 



242 



GUIDE TO AN 



of England, while at heart convinced that, in denying 
the religion he had abjured, he was guilty of the sin 
against hope. The blessed Virgin had compassion 
on him, even in his blasphemy, and had, by reveal- 
ing herself to his sinful eyes, awakened within him 
a better spirit, and delivered him from the demon 
which had driven him out into Protestantism. She 
had done more, — she had bestowed upon him, while 
he lay entranced, the gift of tongues, that he might 
convince the world of his miraculous recall to the 
truth, and win converts to the Church, as on the day 
of Pentecost, the apostles had attracted them. He 
was now in his right mind — he was determined to 
relinquish all the ill got gains of his apostacy, and he 
was prepared to submit to the examination of any 
learned persons who were desirous to test a miracle. 

This memorable event befel in the days of Usher, 
to whom the office of examination was of course 
confided. He entered upon his task with all the ad- 
vantages which his extensive knowledge could be- 
stow, and with an interest proportioned to the great 
importance of the occasion. It was matter of amaze- 
ment to all who witnessed this singular trial of power, 
wherein genius and erudition contended against (what 
but a day before had been accounted) the simplicity 
of ignorance without guile, to observe the composure 
with which the relapsed convert met and solved the 
difficulties proposed to him. Books in various lan- 
guages and characters, of ancient and modern times, 
were read with a facility which amazed the multitude, 
and interpreted with an accuracy which set the acu- 
men of the examiner at defiance. The wonder grew 
— the audience felt a sense of awe stealing upon them 
— the gifted object of the Virgin's interposition be- 
came more and more confident — the Archbishop waxed 
pale. Usher, in his difficulties, always had imme- 
diate recourse to prayer. He withdrew for a few mo- 
ments to implore assistance, the audience with intense 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



243 



anxiety, the pretender to a new apostleship, with un- 
troubled countenance, awaiting his return. But the con- 
fident countenance became changed, when it looked 
upon the pages next spread before it. In the miraculous 
gift of tongues the Welsh language had been forgotten. 
The excitement which followed the imposter's detec- 
tion need not be described ; it is necessary only to say, 
that he made his confession, to the effect that he had, 
from early Ufe, been devoted to the service of the 
Church of Rome — that he had been highly in- 
structed, even in his younger days, but that from the 
time when he in outward seeming joined the Church 
of England, his secret hours, under careful and learned 
preceptors, were devoted to studies by which he had 
almost succeeded in his bold and criminal under- 
taking. 

So far as the imposture and hypocrisy are con- 
cerned, this story is not applicable to the case of the 
Irish Gentleman, whose hypocrisy was altogether of 
a contrary nature ; but it may serve the purpose of a 
good example, (the detected contriver of the pious 
fraud having become a convert to the truth,) or, to 
those who think that the ancient Irish faith is de- 
fended by advocating Popery, and who travel East 
and West for foreign testimonies in its favour, it may 
serve as a warning that there is a domestic difficulty 
for which they must first provide a solution ; namely, 
that the ancient Church of Ireland, before Adrian's 
Bull and Henry's invasion, could boast of innume- 
rable wise and holy men, had fame abroad and pure 
religion at home, and had not a single Bishop, in 
whose appointment or approval, or mission, as it is 
called, the Pope of Rome was concerned. 



244 



GUIDE TO AN 



CHAPTER XVL 



Council of Trent bears testimony to the corruption of 
Romish doctrine, and does not reform it — Index Expur- 
gatorius— Catechism — Missal. 

It is an expedient to which Roman Catholic advo- 
cates have recourse, and from which the Irish Gen- 
tleman has not refrained, to quote, from the Homilies 
of the Church of England, testimony against the wor- 
ship of idols. The argument which they profess to 
have gathered from (every reader of the Homilies 
will say) a very superficial consideration of the fa- 
vourite passage, is, that if idolatry were general and of 
long continuance, Satan prevailed against the Church. 
I sincerely hope, that references to the Homilies may 
encourage some inquiring spirits to read them ; in 
which case they will need no defence, nor will such 
defences as are usually offered of the Roman Church 
satisfy those who shall have seen, in the discourses 
to which they have been guided by an unaccountable 
temerity of quotation, its idolatrous worship faith- 
fully exhibited. The Homilies are not documents to 
every sentence or paragraph of which ministers or 
members of the Church of England are required to 
yield assent. We profess to believe that they '* con- 
.tain godly and wholesome doctrine," but not, that 
every expression and precept found in them is neces- 
sarily holy and true. The Roman Catholic who, in 
obedience to the suggestions of those who misrepre- 
sent them by inadequate quotations, shall study care- 
fully, and with a remembrance of the place assigned 
to them in the Church of England, these excellent 
discourses, will not have mispent his time, and, if 
he love truth better than opinion, will be amply re- 



% 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



245 



compensed for the mental disquietude he may at first 
experience. 

But, the Homilies can take care of themselves. My 
business is with a very different species of composi- 
tion, namely, the decrees, of what has been styled the 
sacred and oscumenical Council of l^rent. My pur- 
pose is to show, that by the declarations of that 
Council, the Church of Rome has been accused of 
error, and that, from the manner in which the Council 
terminated its sittings, the accusation of error hangs 
round it still. 

In the eighteenth session of the Council of Trent, 
a decree was passed, declaratory of corruption in the 
doctrine of the Church of Rome, and appointing a 
mode and instrument of reformation. After the usual 
exordium, the decree proceeds thus. The council 
" especially meditates, how it may, at length, restore 
to its proper purity and splendour the doctrine of 
the Catholic faith, which, in consequence of discordant 
opinions (multorum inter se dissidentium opinionibus) 
has been, in many particulars, corrupted and obscured 
(pluribus locis inquinatam et obscuratam." Since 
then, in the first place it has observed, that the num- 
ber of suspected and pernicious books in which im- 
pure doctrine is contained, and is far and widely 
dispersed, has very much increased, which has called 
forth many censures in various provinces, and espe- 
cially in the blessed city of Rome, w^hile yet no salu- 
tary correction has been applied to this so great and 
pestilent disease, the council has decided, that Fathers 
chosen for such an inquisition shall diligently con- 
sider, and in a convenient session report to the coun- 
cil, in order that with the greater facility it may be 
enabled to separate the divers and strange doctrines 
as tares from the wheat of Christian truth, and more 
conveniently deliberate and determine on those things 
which shall seem opportune to remove scruples from 
many minds, and to take away the causes of many 
x2 



246 



GUIDE TO AN 



complaints." Thus fully and plainly was it pro- 
nounced by an " infallible tribunal" that the doctrine 
of the Church of Rome was '* corrupt and obscure" 
and this, not in matters of minor importance, but in 
what is styled the "Catholic Faith." 

It was not to be expected, that the unsoundness of 
the Roman Church should be authoritatively ex- 
posed, and all further care of its interest abandoned. 
Accordingly, a method of restoration was provided. 
Chosen individuals were appointed to institute an in- 
quiry into the character of the books in which sound 
doctrine was opposed, as well as into works in which 
the faith was mingled with error. When a large 
number of such publications had undergone the cen- 
sure of pious and learned men, it was decreed that 
the council, sitting in its infallibility, should fully ex- 
amine the labours of their delegates, and pronounce a 
final judgment on all that concerned doctrine and the 
mode of its enunciation. The benefits likely to result 
from such a proceeding were obvious. While the 
labours of the council were lightened, and their deli- 
berations left vacant for matters of more pressing im- 
portance, the select committee could give up all its 
care to the examination and censure of books ; and 
on the report of those chosen Fathers," infallibility 
could assert its prerogative, and set a stamp of autho- 
rity on the decisions to which the inquisition of 
books had afforded grounds and facilities. 

In the twenty -fifth session, the list of books exa- 
mined and censured was submitted for the decision 
of the council. The select committee had examined 
the writings of heretics, of the faithful, and of anony- 
mous authors. It had censured books in which un- 
compensated evil was taught, as well as those in 
which pure doctrine was mixed with error ; and 
when the assembled Fathers proceeded to investigate 
the issue of labours undertaken at their command, so 
many particulars were to be examined, and matters 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



247 



of so much delicacy were to be decided, that the 
council confessed its inability or indisposition to revise 
them, transferring to the Pope the office of determin- 
ing a matter on which, especially, an infallible autho- 
rity should have pronounced. The decree was to the 
following purport. Reciting, first, the Act by which 
the committee of inquiry was instituted, it proceeds : 
Hearing now that the last hand has been set to the 
work, and yet that, on account of the variety and 
multitude of books, the matter cannot be distinctly 
and conveniently adjusted by the holy Synod, it 
commands that whatever the committee has done 
shall be referred to the Roman Pontiff, that, by his 
judgment and authority, it may be determined and 
promulgated." The case of the Church of Rome, 
therefore, is thus fairly represented. An infallible 
council declared that its doctrine of faith was cor- 
rupted and obscure ; and, in order to provide a 
remedy, appointed select divines to discriminate be- 
tween truth and error in published works, to whose 
influence Roman Catholics were likely to be exposed. 
When the discrimination had been made, the council 
would not decide upon it, and thus declared, that 
only private authority should supply a rem^edy to the 
evil which infallible authority had discovered and 
declared. 

There are some, who, if they are unacquainted 
with the disclosures of late years, may take upon 
them to affirm, that affairs remitted to the Pope by 
the decree of a council, may be regarded as having 
been, by his decision, finally, and with infallible 
authority, adjusted. If this be so, it is the doctrine 
of the Church of Rome, that no man shall presume 
to read God's holy Scripture, unless he have permis- 
sion in 7vriting from his parish priest, or the bishop 
of his diocese, and that even the bookseller who 
should supply a Bible to one not favoured with such 
formal certificate of permission to read, shall suffer 



248 



GUIDE TO AN 



punishment. Such are the provisions contained in 
the 4th Rule of the Index Expurgatorius. Who- 
soever, therefore, regards the proceedings of " the 
Congregation of the Index" as definitively settled, 
must consider that, if he have not a written permis- 
sion to read the Scriptures, he should give up any 
copy of the Bible, in the vulgar tongue, which may 
be in his possession, or else consent to believe that 
he cannot, on confession of his sins, obtain absolu- 
tion.* 

But, in Ireland, even under this disadvantage, the 
Index Expurgatorius cannot be received. It has, 
according to the testimony of Roman Catholic pre- 
lates, in this country no authority whatever." It 
had not the approval of an infallible tribunal, and, in 
consequence, neither is the Church of Rome to be 
accused of its prohibition of Scripture, nor can Ro- 
man Catholics avail themselves of its provisions as 
if they secured an uniform recognition of sound doc- 
trine and an universal rejection of heresy. There 
is something of inconvenience, certainly, in being 
constrained to acknowledge a principle from which 
it follows, that a writer may be reputed orthodox and 
holy in the Church of Rome in Ireland, who has 
been accounted guilty of heresy by the Pope ; yet 
such is the force of the acknowledgment which was 
made, and which was perhaps esteemed less objec- 
tionable than a confession that Irish Roman Catholics 
assented to the propriety of regulations whereby the 
Bible was prohibited. 

The disadvantage of not having an authorized 
recognition and censure of books, will be obvious to 
any Roman Catholic in this country who inquires 
into the foundation of his belief. He knows that 
the Council of Trent declared the doctrine of faith 
to be corrupted and obscure," that uncertainty was 

* Congr. Ind. Reg. 4, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



249 



occasioned by the diffusion of pernicious books, that, 
in order to correct the evil, a committee was appointed 
to collect information for the Synod, that the com- 
mittee having examined the works of orthodox Ca- 
tholics, the works of heretics, and of individuals 
whose names and forms of religious behef were un- 
known, submitted a report of their labours, contain- 
ing an account of books and errors so manifold, that 
the council could not pronounce upon their character, 
and transferred to one whose judgment was not deci- 
sive, an office which, it may be said, belonged espe- 
cially to an infallible tribunal. In consequence, an 
Irish Roman Catholic to whom the Roman censure 
of books has no authority, A;no?-6'5 that the doctrine of 
faith has been perniciously misrepresented, can only 
conjecture where it is faithfully delivered. He has an 
infaUible testimony to its corruption. He has no 
more than private judgment to guide him to the 
truth. 

In the twenty-fourth session, the Council of Trent 
directed that the people should be instructed in a 
Catechism to be prescribed " by the Holy Synod." 
In the following session, the Catechism, as well as the 
list and censures of prohibited books, was referred 
for the judgment of the pope.* 

* Cone. Trld. Sess. 25.—" The Catechism of Trent,'* The 
Fathers in Council were not all insensible to the importance 
of having- the decision of a Council pronounced upon a 
Catechism, so that it should not only be published pursuant 
to their decree, but correct and acknowledged from their 
revision and approval. ** The Leg-ates, perceiving that it 
would take years to adjust all differences, (respecting the 
Index, Ritual, Catecliism, &c.) proposed to refer the matter 
to the Pope, To tliis some of the Prelates did not consent, 
and the Bishop of Lerida made a long discourse, to show 
that, if any work was peculiarly worthy of a Council, it was 
to compose a Catechism, which, after the Creed," (the Creed 
at this time being, it should be remembered, the Nicene,) 
** should hold the first place, and the Ritual, which should 



250 



GUIDE TO AN 



In the twenty-second session it was declared, that 
ahhongh the mass contained much for the erudition 
of a faithful people, yet it was not thought fit that it 
should everywhere be celebrated in the vulgar tongue; 
wherefore pastors are directed frequently to explain 
some mystery of the sacrifice," &c.* It was also 
declared, that the ceremonies of the mass needed 
much correction. Yet even the Missal, which should 
be the text-book for such expositions, was not thought 
worthy of Synodal recognition. It was, together with 
the Breviary, the Catechism, and the list of prohi- 
bited books, referred to a decision which could not 
stamp it with authority .t 

" To look for Protestantism," observes the Irish 
Gentleman, whose corner-stone is the right of pri- 
vate judgment, in a Church whose system it has beea 

hold the second. To reform the Ritual required a correct 
acquaintance with antiquity, and the customs of every coun- 
try; a branch of knowledge not to be found at the Court of 
Rome, where, however numerous were the men of talent 
and erudition, there were few who had applied to this de- 
partment of literature, which is necessary for preparing* a 
work worthy of transmission to posterity, and which could 
be better expected from a Council. The anxiety of the 
Fathers to terminate the Council and leave Trent, scarcely 
allowed him a hearing*." — Comp. Hist, of the Counc. of Trent, 
hy the Rev. B. TV. Mathias, — a work by which the proceed- 
ings of the Council of Trent are made known to the general 
reader, with a fidelity and conciseness which create an 
anxious desire for the appearance of the promised sequel. 
When the entire work has been completed, it will conduce, 
perhaps, not less to the furtherance of truth, than the splen- 
did labours of its venerable author in another department 
of the Christian ministration. 

The reader has not failed to observe, that the decision of 
the Council of Trent leaves the Roman Catholic people 
without a Catechism which is certified to contain pure doc- 
trine, or a Missal in which the rites and ceremonies of their 
Church Service can be learned or practised, as from a duly 
accredited source of intelligence. 

* Sess. 22. c. 8. See Appendix, No. 3. f Sess. 25, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



251 



from the first to acknowledge no such right was, I 
now perceived, a gross mistake."* What is a mem- 
ber of the Church of Rome to do — what is he to be- 
lieve ? If he deny that there is error in the doctrine 
of faith" in his Church, error which it is damnable 
to hold, he forfeits eternal salvation because he has 
rejected the decree of a general Council — if in his 
blindness he fall into error against which he has no 
warning, or if the warning which has influenced him, 
(and which being that of one or more individuals not 
infallible may lead astray,) has misdirected him, he is 
damned for heresy, — and if, deserted by the Council 
which has proclaimed his danger, distracted by the 
uncertainty or precariousness of a pilotage not accre- 
dited, he trusts to God and his reason to guard him 
from destruction, he is wrecked for the crime of using 
his private judgment. Do the wildest fictions descrip- 
tive of the arts with which the fiend, when he has 
purchased a victim, so frames his bond as to provide 
for all contingencies, and. shut out every avenue of 
escape, present a picture more revolting than that of 
Rome, proclaiming, to her astounded votaries, that 
there is peril around them by which they may be 
utterly destroyed, but yet that they must stand still, 
not to " see the salvation of the Lord," but because, 
if they seek that salvation, they shall sufier loss and 
ruin ; for the Church which, will not offer guidance 
or council, is ever ready to persecute with rash and 
unsparing maledictions ? What tyranny so merciless 
as this, and whereunto shall we liken the generation 
to which an undisguised advocacy of such soul-killing 
despotism, of such tame and beastly slavery, can be 
recommended, as a defence of the ancient national 
faith in which Ireland once proclaimed the glorious 
freedom of the Gospel. 



* Travels, Vol. I. p. 213. 



252 



GUIDE TO AN 



CIIAPTEE XVII. 

Termination of Trent Council — Confession of Incompetency 
— Reformers — Luther — Calumnies against him — Cranmer 
— Hildebrand canonized. 

It may be a question whether, since the confusion of 
tongues at Babel, any dispersion of men assembled 
for an important object has taken place under cir- 
cumstances so surprising, and yet so characteristic 
as those in which the council of Trent discontinued 
its sittings. It had called for a report of the various 
objectionable doctrines, taught in books whose in- 
crease private authority had not been found able to 
discountenance. It assigned even the inadequacy of 
private exertion, of " censures in the provinces and 
even in the benign city of Rome," to counteract the 
evil, as among the reasons, why it required the inqui- 
sition to be made and the report presented. It de- 
scribed this inquisition and report as no more than 
requisite preliminaries to the considerations it pro- 
posed to hold upon them, and the judgment it should 
pronounce. In due time the report was made. Its 
recitals were neither brief nor unimportant; its list 
included many and various books tainted by different 
shades and degrees of heretical opinion; and, just 
then, when the Council found its worst apprehensions 
more than realised, when there was laid before it, in 
alarming prospect, the confusion and corruption of 
doctrine which prevailed as well within, as without, 
the pale of the visible Church, the infallible council 
dissolved, announcing as the reason why it undertook 
not to remedy evil, the very magnitude of the difficul- 
ties, that very discrepancy of opinion and confusion 
of tonguesj which, especially, demanded its intervene 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



253 



tion. It is impossible for one who believes that God 
ruleth in affairs of men, not to recognise in this sin- 
gular confession of imbecility, a special, and almost 
miraculous judgment on those profane boasters of 
infallible power, who would build a city and a tower 
whose top should reach the heavens, and who, at the 
dispersion of Trent, beheld the tower unfinished and 
" left off to build the city." 

Surely it is not reasonable to impute blame to the 
reformers, that they did not submit to a tribunal, 
which would not listen to the prelate who gave warn- 
ing against the proclamation of its own incompetency. 
It would be, by far, a more compendious process to 
exercise infallibility according to the example of Con- 
stance, than to manifest its presence in sound and 
satisfactory judgment. But it would be idle to hope, 
that the council would listen to the oral expostulations 
of men, whose written works they declined examin- 
ing. If the reformers refused to appear in person 
before the assembly, (for reasons of which it is unne- 
cessary to remind the reader,) they could he judged 
in their books ; and yet even this judgment was dele- 
gated to the pope. How inconsistent is it, therefore, 
to tax as disobedience to the decisions of a solemn 
tribunal, disregard of an assembly which passed upon 
itself, in the very instance in which its judgment was 
most to be looked for, the sentence of incompetency 
and extinction. 

But if the Church of Rome or its avenging spirits 
were denied the opportunity to convince the reform- 
ers of their errors, there has been no want of inclina- 
tion to launch the anathema which should scatter 
their ashes or blast their memories. It is a favourite 
mode of argument with many an advocate of infalli- 
bility, who would hold himself disgraced by adducing 
so irrelevant a matter on any other occasion than one 
in which his Church is concerned, to gather all that 
slander has invented against those by whom the pa- 

Y 



254 



GUIDE TO AN 



pal power was shaken, to collect also every mark of 
their weakness and indiscretion, and to ask are the 
vices or the frailties of such men arguments in favour 
of the Protestant religion. 

It would be well if they would propose the ques- 
tion in another form, are these vices favourable to the 
Church of Rome. Supposing it admitted that Lu- 
ther was stahied with the sinful practices, and the 
superstitious opinions imputed to him, does his ini- 
quity in the slightest degree affect the question at 
issue between Protestants and the Church wherein 
he had been instructed ? Supposing that the Church 
of Rome^ which had the care of Luther's childhood 
and of his youth, permitted him to grow up with dis- 
positions to evil, which her infallibility had neither 
corrected nor discovered, does it constitute an argu- 
ment for the purity of her faith, that she had not pre- 
vented him from becoming the guilty thing which 
her advocates industriously misrepresent him ? That 
the state of a spirit is debilitated and distempered, is 
no proof that it has been under the training of the 
physician of souls. Had Luther left the Church of 
Rome, because it could not cure him of his corrup- 
tions, the motive of his separation would be just,* 
and it should be thought very injudicious, indeed, in 
her champions, to allege the vices which she could 
not correct, as proofs of her unerring power to eradi- 
cate all evil. 

But, are the charges so bitterly urged against the 

* There was, I always thought, wisdom in the reply of 
one of the traduced Cavan converts, who stated, as his mo- 
tive to leave the Church of Rome, that its ministration was 
useless to him. ♦* I like what I hear in the Church," says 
he, *' but at the Chapel, for once I v/as in under the roof, I 
was twice in the yard; and when I was in, it done (did) me 
as little good as when I was out." Latin prayers are but 
solemn mockery to the anxious mind of an uninstructed 
peasant. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



255 



reformers founded in fact? Was Luther the mon- 
ster the enemies of truth or the ready recipients of 
cahimny are earnest to describe him ? I really feel 
shame as I admit the bare idea of consenting to give 
up to slander, one whose endowments were so noble 
and whose purposes w^ere so pure as those of the 
great reformer. It must, however, be confessed, 
that the frailties by which man is tempted were found 
in him, and often, because in his character everything 
was great and bold, more strongly marked than in 
inferior natures. It should also be kept in mind, that 
the idea of excellence which his faith contemplated 
rendered him less lenient to the passions and weak- 
ness by which true religion was offended, and thus, 
where others would be but lightly moved, his spirit 
was roused from its depths, and his complaints were 
loud and vehement, as he confessed, in the sincerity 
of a penitence that shook his soul, the sinfulness of 
which he was conscious. Protestants who read the 
Bible remember the complaints of St. Paul ; if Roman 
Catholics read ihem they would be instructed that 
the best evidence of iniquity is not found in the sor- 
rows by which the spirit groans under the burden of 
sin. Man is not reconciled to sin, so long as the 
thought of it afflicts him. If this had been remem- 
bered, the calumniators of Luther w^ould discover in 
the strength of his expressions, rather the energy of 
his repentance than the enormity of his guilt. 

Luther's offences, how^ever, do not need, it is said, 
his confession of them. He was superstitious; he 
was false to his vow^s ; he was indulgent to the cri- 
minal weaknesses of others. We should alway re- 
member how much our estimate of moral good 
depends upon the character of our early associations. 
A gentleman, (the individual of an order which the 
institutions of chivalry have contributed to produce) 
regards a direct falsehood, or an act of cowardice, as 
a species of impossibility. Will any man say, that 



256 



GUIDE TO AN 



truth and courage, considered not as Christian graces, 
but as ornaments of human character, are to be found 
and expected equally in the inferior classes in society. 
What constitutes the difference, the moral difference ? 
The difference of circumstances. The gentleman 
has been brought up in abhorrence of vices which 
are mean. Even where little pains are taken to com- 
municate religious impressions, sentiments of honour 
are instilled ; and thus the character of the high-born 
becomes insensibly moulded into something different 
from that of the humbler individual, around whose 
early days, no elevating associations were collected. 

Let Luther's conduct have the palliation with 
which the circumstances of his early nurture should 
soften censure, and there will be found much to plead 
in his favour. He broke his vows of celibacy ; but 
the Church in which he had been instructed taught 
him to hold vows light.* He permitted a violation 

* The reader will probably remember the acknowledged 
principle of the Roman Catholic Church, that " oaths are 
not oblig-atory, they are perjuries rather, if detrimental to 
the Church,^' and if he look to the evidence taken before 
the Commissioners of Education in Ireland, he will find that 
the explanation offered of this characteristic principle, by 
the Rev. N. Slevin, is, that by detrimental to the Church is 
meant, detrimental to religion, and that the principle im- 
plies no more than " that unlawful oaths are not to be 
kept." — See Examination of the Maynooth Professors. He 
will find also matter of much interest on the subject of oaths 
and vows and the dispensing power in the evidence of the 
Rev. F. Anglade, the Rev. Dr. M'Hale, and the Rev. W. 
Higgins, on the same occasion. The numberless cases in 
which Luther had seen dispensations extended to oaths 
and vows, may have induced in him less regard for an ob- 
ligation which he conceived contrary to the divine law. It 
may freely be admitted that in his own instance a man should 
distrust his judgment, and many may think, judging from 
their own feelings, that they would not disengage them- 
selves from an obligation, simply because it was unadvisedly 
incurred. But it should be remembered that our notion of 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



257 



of the laws of marriage but he belonged to a 
Church M^hich interfered with matrimonial regula- 
tions — even arrogating to itself the power to remove 
impediments which Scripture had prescribed, and to 
create impediments w^here the Scriptures had left 
freedom. He was superstitious ; he believed that he 
had held conferences with the devil.t He must have 

the solemnity of an oath or vow is not acquired amidst tlie 
thousand evasions and distinctions by which in the Church 
of Rome its force was neutralized. 

* Basnage candidly acknowledges that Luther was guilty 
of an offence in permitting the second marriage (if it could 
be called marriage) of the Landgrave of Hesse, while his 
former wife was still alive. At the same time, he pleads in 
extenuation of his offence, and in crimination of the Church 
in which he had been educated — that popes have permitted 
incest by pubhshed bulls, and that the Council of Trent 
pronounced an anathema against any who should deny the 
power of the Church to dispense, in the degrees of affinity 
prohibited by Scripture ; and also, that it was decided by 
Gregory the Second, when consulted as to the doctrine of 
his Church, that, where a wife w^as afRicted with a tedious 
illness, a second marriage might be contracted, provided the 
former wife were duly provided with the necessaries of life. 
Could the judgment of one brought up in so lax a Church 
be, (humanly speaking, ) correct ? Should his lapses be so 
rigorously censured, as if he had been trained in a purer 
system ? 

f Easnage accuses Bossuet of having contrived the slan- 
derous turn given since his time to the conference, imagi- 
nary or real, of Luther with the tempter. There has been 
much debate on the question whether it is intended, in the 
account e^iven by the reformer, to represent a real occur- 
rence or to detail the incidents of a visionary temptation 
and dialogue. For my part, I esteem it a matter of very 
little moment to decide in which point of view Luther con- 
sidered it. If the reader is not acquainted with Coleridge's 
profound and simple explanation of the phssnomenon, and 
his analysis of the reformer's character, he should not long 
defer the pleasure and profit he can derive from the study 
of a dissertation rarely excelled even by its gifted autiior. 
It will seem of little moment to one who has reflected, to 

y2 



258 



GUIDE TO AN 



been an infidel at heart, rejecting what his Church 
inculcated far more earnestly than the truths of the 
Bible, if he doubted, not the possibility but the fre- 
quency of supernatural incidents, and of demoniac 
appearances and solicitations. 

The Irish Gentleman, not satisfied with repeating 
the accusations against Luther and his associates, 
does not shrink from the unworthy office of defaming 
a character which it is the interest of all who love 
their kind to protect from slander — a man whose 
course, save for the frailties that denote the evil 

defend Luther against the charge of believing that his inter- 
course with Satan, was a real occurrence, although it would 
seem, from certain expressions in his report of the dialogue 
on private thoughts, that he conceived his detail to be that 
of a vision. 

The only important matter to be noticed, is an insinua- 
tion that it was from his ghostly enemy he learned the im- 
piety of the mass. This appears altogether, as Basnage re- 
cites the incident, a gross and inexcusable misrepresentation. 
The tempter, as Luther described the danger, strove to 
goad him into despair by reminding him how often he had 
perpetrated the abomination of the mass, not by disclosing 
to him what he had long known, its idolatrous nature. 
" That which affrighted me, said Luther, was, that the evil 
one did not speak untruth when he represented the magni- 
tude of my crime. He produced against me two irreproach- 
able witnesses, the law of God and my own conscience. I 
cannot deny that I have sinned, and that my sin is grievous. 
I have merited death ; hut the enemy desired that, like 
Cain, I should despair of God^s mercy. It is in this combat 
I have need of the assistance of the Holy Spirit. I was con- 
strained to acknowledge before the evil one, that I had sin- 
ned, that I was condemned as Judas ; but I turned to Jesus 
Christ as St. Peter did. I embraced the merit of His death 
who delivered me from condemnation.'^ — Hisioire de la Re- 
ligion, &c. Some short time since a Tittle tract was printed 
in Dublin, containing a translation of the dialogue which 
has been so shamefully misrepresented among those who 
would argue against truth by calumniating her champions. 
It ought to be reprinted, and circulated so as to leave slan- 
der without excuse. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



259 



effects of education, and the fallen estate of man, 
appears to have all lain in light from Heaven. It is 
not for me to attempt a vindication of Cranmer, but 
it is for me to rejoice, that, as yet, when men of edu- 
cation and genius assail such a reputation as his, they 
lay aside their station and their name, and appear 
only as anonymous contributors to a Review, or as 
Irish Gentlemen disguised and on their travels. When 
the accusers of a spirit like his who framed the Li- 
turgy of the Church of England, thus hide their faces 
as they criminate, we may well permit all history, 
cotemporary and of succeeding ages, — but still more 
we may permit the Liturgy to speak for him who 
had so large a share in its compilation ; we may turn 
to that noble monument as the Roman looked to the 
Capitol, and feel assured that, if there be some who 
will remain where dark insinuations are whispered, 
all who love not merely the religion to which the 
martyr ministered, but the literature of England, will 
turn their backs upon the traducer, and pronounce 
the framer of the Liturgy acquitted. But a single 
word more. It is insinuated that Cranmer assisted in 
actions for which he should be condemned. The 
crime for which he suffered was heresy* — the cha- 

* "As soon as Cranmer perceived what course events 
were likely to take after King Edward's death, he gave 
orders that all his debts should be paid, to the uttermost 
farthing, and cancelled the bills which were due to him 
from persons who were not in a coudition to discharge 
them. Tiiis being done^ he said he was now his own man, 
and with God's help able to answer all the world, and worldly 
adversities." Book of the Chicrch. After his condemnation for 
contumacy in not appearing at Rome while detained a close 
prisoner in England, **he was dealt w^ith very differently 
from any of the former sufferers ; for he was removed to 
the house of the Dean of Christ Chuixh, and treated there 
rather as a guest than a prisoner, with every possible in- 
dulgence, and with every mark of real or pretended regard, 
some, perhaps acting from sincere attachment to him, others 



260 



GUIDE TO AN 



racter of the treason for which he was condemned 
could not satisfy his revilers. If a fouler charge could 
be advanced againt him, we maybe well assured that 
the Edinburgh Reviewer and the Irish Gentleman 

in the hope of prevailing on a mind which was naturally 
timid. That they succeeded is certain, but it is doubtful 
to what extent. The probability is, that he signed an 
equivocal recantation, and that the other papers, five in 
number, wherein he was made to acknowledge, in the most 
explicit terms, the doctrines which he had repeatedly con- 
futed, and to vilify himself as a mischiefmaker and blasphe- 
mer, were fabricated by Bonner's directions. The circum- 
stances are altogether suspicious as well as perplexed, and 
notliing appears certain, but that he submitted, under a 
promise that his life should be spared, and that he should 
pass it, if he did not wish for wealth or dignity, in a private 
station, and wherever he listed."— /6ic?. Vol. II. p. 229. 

" Of all the martyrdoms, during this great persecution, 
this was, in all its circumstances, the most injurious to the 
Romish cause. It was a manifestation of inveterate and 
deadly malice toward one who had borne his elevation with 
almost unexampled meekness. It eflectually disproved the 
argument, on which the Romanists rested, that the con- 
stancy of our martyrs proceeded not from confidence in 
their faith, and the strength which they derived therefrom, 
but from vain-glory, and the pride of consistency, and the 
shame of retracting what they had so long professed. Such 
deceitful reasoning could have no place here : Cranmer 
had retracted, and the sincerity of his contrition for that 
sin was too plain to be denied, too public to be concealed, 
too memorable ever to be forgotten. The agony of his re- 
pentance had been seen by thousands ; and tens of thou- 
sands had witnessed how, when that agony was passed, he 
stood calm and immoveable amid the flames ; a patient and 
a willing holocaust, triumphant not over his persecutors 
alone, but over himself, over the mind as well as the body, 
over fear, and weakness, and death." — Ihid, Vol. TI. p. 232. 

With such a memorial of his life as the Liturgy of the 
Church of England, and with such a monument as has been 
erected for him in tlie story of his martyrdom, told in the 
Book of the Church, the repetition of Cranmer is free from 
peril ; neither the arrow that fleeth by day nor the pesti- 
lence that walketh by night can harm his name. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



261 



were not better disposed to bring to light his evil 
deeds and blacken his reputation, than the persecu- 
tors who bestowed his crown of martyrdom. 

But it is said, all the Reformers were persecutors, 
Cranmer as well as the more intemperate. It is 
true, that even Cranmer's name is tarnished. His 
crime was not. so heinous as that of the Church in 
which he had been educated. He condemned to 
death for what he accounted blasphemy against God, 
because a heresy against the Apostle's Creed — Rome 
slew her victims for denying to the Pope the honour 
exacted for him. There is a difference here ; but 
still we must regret that the Reformers did not more 
speedily and more clearly learn to understand the 
religion of the Lord Jesus. Let it not, however, be 
forgotten, that they were educated in a Church 
which reckoned Lateran and Constance among its 
dominions, which accounted perjuries lawful, and 
treachery of the basest character honourable, when 
employed to avenge the Church by the murder of 
an enemy. Let it be remembered, that the darkest 
and the most revolting pages of human history were 
presented to the youthful mind of each probationer 
for the office of the priesthood, and that he was 
taught to think of the foulest enormities that dis- 
graced his nature as transfigured when perpetrated 
in the service of the Church, and changed into what 
was laudable and fair. What was to be expected ? 
Was it not, that coming out of intellectual darknisss, 
objects should seem confused — men like trees walk- 
ing 1 Was it not, that they who come forth from the 
tombs where humanity was putrifying, should have 
marks of defilement, should even have the grave 
clothes around them ? Oscitancy, unsteadiness, even 
moral offence we ought to have anticipated ; and in 
the vices which dishonoured some, and the errors 
which led many astray, we may read the character of 
the Church from which they had come forth ; while 



262 



GUIDE TO AN 



in their Apostolic preaching, their zeal, and their en- 
durance, we recognize the triumph of faith over the 
vices of a most debasing education. 

It seems singular, that the revilers of the Reformers 
and Martyrs of Protestant communions should have 
forgotten a remarkable distinction between the case 
of those whose instructors they calumniate, and cir- 
cumstances in which they themselves are placed, and 
which might well justify opprobrious imputations. If 
the Reformers were even such as slander has de- 
scribed them, they might be serviceable in breaking 
down an evil system — while, if there was no recog-, 
nition of their sanctity required, as of necessity, for 
admission into a better, the framers of a sounder dis- 
cipline, or the setters forth of purer doctrine, are no 
wise inculpated in the guilt of those who had made 
the way plain before them. If, indeed, they ascribed 
to them an honour which was undeserved, and said, 
no man shall be admitted to Protestant communion 
who will not join in offering such an honour, there 
would be just ground to accuse them of abetting and 
encouraging the evils of which their leader and head 
had been guilty. Has any such folly or crime been 
imputed to a Protestant Church ? Let it be proved,, 
and let that Church have its candlestick removed. 
Has even the most honoured in any Protestant as- 
sembly, been, by the act of men, elevated to Heaven, 
to intercede there for the people who make supplica- 
tion to him ? What is it to the cause of Protestant- 
, ism, that its first teachers were not perfect? They 
did not teach men to look unto them. They taught, 
that there was none good but one— that there is none 
other name given under Heaven whereby we may be 
saved, but only the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; 
and shall we be thankless for the revealing of this 
great truth from the sepulchre in which, unseen, it 
was burning, because they who brought it forth were 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



263 



not, in all particulars, what the mind most loves to 
contemplate ? 

But, to think that Eome shall advance against the 
Protestant Church, as an objection, that some of the 
Eeformers were not without a blemish— Rome, which 
has intruded into the Courts of Heaven a motley tribe 
of Deities, such as never were before imagined ? 
Rome, which has intruded into heaven Gregory the 
Seventh! Hildehrandl the man whose life of evil 
could only be explained by the supposition that he 
w^as made an instrument of the Devil !^ Does Rome 
deny the purity of the Protestant faith, because the 
first Reformers retained frailties which proved them 
human ? 



CHAPTER XVm. 



Church of Ireland — Testimony to its doctrine contrasted 
with the testimonies afforded by the Church of Rome — 
Peculiar character of the Church of England. 

The Church of England has generally had the 
high honour paid to it by the adversaries of Protes- 

* "With regard to Gregory the Seventh there is much 
more difficulty ; he stretched the limits of ecclesiastical pre- 
tension much beyond what I would approve of. It is 
recorded by an ecclesiastical historian who lived shortly 
afterwards, that before his death he grieved very sincerely 
for the part he had acted, and even acknowledged that the 
troubles he had excited in various countries had been occa- 
, sioned through the temptations of the Devil." — Most Rev, Dr, 
Murray, Com. Com. 1825. 

It is inexpressibly awful to think that millions of men 
supplicate the favour of one, who, they have reason to be- 
^ lieve, was an instrument of evil during his life — and whose 
canonization may have rendered him still more serviceable 
to his unrighteous task-master. 



264 



GUIDE TO AN 



tantism, that they scarcely ever directly impugn it. 
They speak of the licentiousness of private judgment, 
and the consequences of leaving every headstrong in- 
dividual without constraint or advice to pursue his 
inclinations. They speak of the evils which have 
resulted from efforts to discover truth, when no re- 
spect was paid to the governance by which such ef- 
forts should be regulated. They do not speak of the 
admirable judgment with which the Church of Eng- 
land has been poised between despotism and license, 
exchanging infallibility for a reasonable authority, 
substituting for a servile reverence of the ancients, 
or a flippant rejection of them, a discreet and pious 
respect for what was taught in early times and in all 
countries ; a respect which recognizes in Scripture 
alone, truth without any mixture of error, and thus 
corrects and modifies the estimation in which it holds 
the most honoured human compositions. 

Another honour is paid to the Church of England. 
She has a Liturgy ; Articles of Faith ; a Catechism. 
Against these her adversaries might consistently 
direct their arguments, because in these the principle 
of the Church is made known ; but it so happens 
that these are for the most part unnoticed in contro- 
versy, (we might say entirely omitted in the contro- 
versy of our Irish Gentleman,) and the testimony of 
individuals, some altogether unworthy of credit as 
witnesses, some whose evidence, by being mutilated, 
is misrepresented, is adduced, as if in them, and not 
from the authoritative declarations of the Church 
herself, her doctrines were to be learned. This is 
strange — it would seem as if the practice of invoking 
saints, so influenced the judgment of Roman Catho- 
lics, that even in their reasonings they will not pre- 
sume to ascend higher than to a subordinate authority. 

There might be some propriety in endeavouring 
to ascertain the doctrine of the Church of Rome from 
individuals in her communion, because there is not 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



265 



in existence any work of authority from which her 
faith can be known. Her traditions are necessarily 
secret ; she has not approved any interpretation of 
the Bible ; she has not declared the councils which 
should have authority ; she has not reported the pro- 
ceedings of approved councils so as that their decla- 
rations can be read in an authentic form ; she has not 
distinguished what Canons are to be received; what 
are to be rejected ; v/hat partially rejected and par- 
tially retained ; she has not recorded the names of 
the Fathers to whom she consigns the office of inter- 
preting Scripture ; she has not authorized a Catechism 
for the instruction of her people, a prohibitory index 
of books in which, by exposing heresy, she would 
distinguish truth ; she has not authorized a Missal 
for the services of devotion and the solemn sacrifice; 
she has not authorized a Breviary for the private edi- 
fication of the priesthood. When we inquire, there- 
fore, into the doctrines of the Church of Rome, we 
are, of necessity, constrained to accept the guidance 
of secondary evidence, because none better can be 
procured. And yet, it is the cry of Roman Catho- 
lics that this evidence ought not to have been ac- 
cepted. Our answer is, we have never resorted to it 
but of necessity. We affirm that there is 7io evidence 
of a primary character as to the doctrines of the 
Church of Rome ; her pretensions are of a nature to 
which exposure would be destruction ; they are ac- 
cordingly concealed in vagueness and mystery ; her 
prophet of infahibility is veiled. 

A single consideration will be sufficient to point 
out the distinction between the testimonies by which 
the doctrines, respectively, of the Churches of Eng- 
land and of Rome, can be ascertained. A Roman 
Catholic professes, (an ecclesiastic s wears,) to re- 
ceive, witliGUt doubt, all that was delivered, declared, 
and defined in the Sacred Canons and General Coun- 
cils, and to condemn and anathematize all things con- 
z 



266 



GUIDE TO AN 



trary thereto. No infallible authority, indeed no 
authoritative assembly, has decided what Councils or 
what Canons those are, which must be without any 
doubt received.* A minister in the Church of Eng- 
land solemnly subscribes his assent and consent to 
the Book of Common Prayer," and promises ca- 
nonical obedience to his diocesan. The canons of 
the Church of England are not numerous, and are 
accessible to all. They were not framed for times 
like the present, and therefore all are not practically 
in operation — but they are well known, and open to 
examination. The Articles of Religion are found in 
the Book of Common Prayer, and are, as the book 
in which they are contained, published by authority. 
They affirm the doctrine, that Holy Scripture con- 
tains all truth necessary for salvation ; and thus it is 
made evident, that the engagements of a minister of 
the Church of England, as to his belief, are, that he 
receives the Bible as the source of all necessary truth, 
and that he assents to the " Book of Common Prayer" 
as containing a sound exposition of faith, and an 
edifying formulary of devotion. While, then, the 
engagements taken to the Church of Rome exact an 
inquiry into the number of Councils, their proceed- 
ings, their canons, their anathemas, — an inquiry in 
which the infallible power has vouchsafed no assist- 

* ** When Roman Catholics are required to profess their 
assent to all tliing-s declared and defined in the canons of 
Councils, what Councils are meant The canons univer- 
sally received by tlie Church, or such parts of them as are 
received by the Church. 

" The whole of some and parts of others?" *' Just so/' 
—Lords' Com. 1825, Right Rev. J. Doyle, I). D. 

The promise to receive these canons was made subse- 
quently to the sitting's of the Council of Trent. What au- 
thentic body of canons was framed since then? None could 
have been authenticated — nor has there ever been framed a 
body of canons, or of doctrine in the Church of Rome, on 
wliich infallibility has set its seal. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



267 



ance, and in which, consequently, secondary evidence 
must be received, — the engagements of a minister in 
the Church of England directly refer the inquirer to 
two books, one of which all Christians acknowledge 
to be true, and one which the Church of England 
openly professes as that by which the peculiar cha- 
racter of her ministration may be learned with au- 
thority. 

It is clear, therefore, that when Roman Catholics 
pretend to derive their knowledge of Protestant doc- 
trine, (at least the doctrines of the Church of Eng- 
land,) from individual testimony, they have unne- 
cessarily abstained from the more satisfactory evidence 
abundantly afforded to them ; and that when they 
complain of the selections which have sometimes 
been made from the evidences of doctrine taught in 
their own Church, affirming that such evidence has no 
authority, their remonstrance is unjust, because they 
produce no evidence of unquestionable authority, by 
which their creed can be ascertained.* 

Far be it, however, from a member or minister of 
the Church of England to discountenance or discour- 
age the habit of consulting those high authorities 
which, although not to be regarded as oracles of truth, 
have conferred honour on their Church, and have 
been lights to lighten those who worshipped in other 
communions. We would say merely, let not the 
writers whom we do not respect be received as bear- 
ing testimony which the formularies of our worship, 
and the articles of our faith, distinctly afford, — let 
not those whom we hold in honour, have their testi- 

* The doubts and uncertainties respecting* the decrees of 
Lateran and Constance, as expressed in the evidence of 
Roman Catholic Bishops and Priests before the Parliamen- 
tary Committees and the Commissioners of Irish Education 
Inquiry, in the year 1825, are sufficient to prove that the 
evidence as to Canons and Councils must be held conjec- 
tural. 



268 



GUIDE TO AN 



monies marred by inadequate citations, and we shall 
as little shrink from placing the issue of our cause 
on the excellence of our divines, as the members of 
any other Christian communion. Nay, we are ready 
to admit, that the comments of our chosen divines 
afford considerable if not essential assistance to one 
who desires to understand the precise character of 
our institutions. 

" At the present day," observes Bishop Jebb, it 
is by no means sufficiently considered, that the 
Church of England occupies a very peculiar station 
in the Christian world, constituting, as it were, a 
species in herself. 

" Her specific temperament, indeed, has, during 
the last century, been most inadequately recognized 
at home; but it has not failed to attract the notice of 
foreign observers. The sagacious Mosheim, for ex- 
ample, and he is not singular in his statement, de- 
scribes the English Church as that correction of the 
old religion which separates the Britons equally 
from the Roman Catholics^ and from the other com- 
munities who have renounced the dominatioyi of the 
Pope, 

" We can feel no difficulty, either in adopting or 
in justifying this acute and compendious definition. 
The Church of Rome fetters the judgment by im- 
plicit submission to authority. Foreign branches of 
the Reformation give unbounded license to the fancy, 
by the unrestricted exercise of private interpretation. 
But our national Church inculcates a liberal, discri- 
minative, yet undeviating reverence for pious anti- 
quity ; a reverence alike sanctioned by reason, in- 
spired by feeling, and recommended by authority. 
This principle is, in truth, our especial characteristic ; 
a principle which has ever enabled our Church to 
combine discursiveness with consistency, freedom of 
inquiry with orthodoxy of belief, and vigorous good 
sense with primitive and elevated piety. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



269 



This happy temperament is guarded by the most 
safe and sober limitations. The Church of England, 
in the first instance, and as her grand foundation, 
derives all obligatory matter of faith, — that is, to use 
her own expression, all that is to be believed for ne- 
cessity of salvation, from the Scriptures alone ; and 
herein she differs from the Church of Rome. But 
she systematically resorts to the concurrent sense of 
the Church Catholic, both for assistance in the inter- 
pretation of the sacred text, and for the guidance in 
those matters of religion which the text has left at 
large ; and herein she differs from every other re- 
formed communion."'^ 

Had the Irish Gentleman perused the above ex- 
tract from one of the most eminent of modern divines, 
he would have, perhaps, been spared his travel to 
the German oracles of reason, and his readers would 
have been spared the knowledge of all the impiety 
with which the answer of the oracles has made them 
acquainted. Had the character of the Church of 
England been known, in which respect for antiquity 
accompanies reverence for the Scripture, and in 
which private judgment is at once assisted and en- 
couraged, the evils of extreme licentiousness, the dis- 
regard of all the knowledge of early times, and the 
abuses of that freedom which the Church of Rome 
denies and the Church of England inculcates, would 
not have been represented as inherent in, and essen- 
tial to. Protestantism. While, therefore, the Irish 
Gentleman adduces, as testimonies to the character of 
our Church, German extravagance and English for- 
malism, — while, by partial extracts from our valued 
expositors, he misrepresents their meaning, may I be 
permitted to propose one human testimony — that from 
which I have extracted the preceding character of our 
Church, — a testimony which even the angriest ad- 



* Sermons by the Rev. John Jebb, A. M., Appendix. 
z2 



270 



GUIDE TO AN 



versary of Protestantism will admire, for the wisdom 
of its sentiments and the characteristic beauty of its 
expression. 

It is well worthy of remark, that the principle, by 
which the divines of the Church of England were 
governed in ecclesiastical arrangements, is almost 
identical with that which, nearly a thousand years 
preceding, Ireland had recognized in its separation 
from the Church of Rome ; " when commissioners, 
in their judgment of heresies, were en joined to adhere, 
in the first place, to the authority of the canonical 
Scriptures ; secondly, to the decisions of the first four 
general councils ; and thirdly, to the decision of any 
other general council founded on the express and 
plain words of holy Scripture."* Here, it is clear, 
the Church of England manifests a peculiar respect 
for the first four councils, which the reader will re- 
member, the Irish Church had received. He will 
remember also, the reason assigned by Baronius for 
what he was pleased to call our schism. The Roman 
Church had received the second synod of Constan- 
tinople, the same which she now reverences as the 
fifth among her general councils, and the Church of 
Ireland, not satisfied with a silent rejection of its pro- 
ceedings, not contented to do as has, in later years, 
been done, with respect to the decrees of Trent, re- 
monstrated with the Roman Church on the impro- 
priety of assenting to its decisions ; and failing in the 
endeavour to persuade, adopted what the papal his- 
torian esteems the rash, and what all will regard as 
the extreme alternative of separation. It is a memo- 
rable coincidence that when England, in the sixteenth 
century, proceeded to the reformation of her Church, 
without any reference whatever to the ecclesiastical 
history of Ireland, but guided by respect for antiquity 

* Bishop Jebb's Sermons, Appendix,— Burnet Hist, of 
Ref. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



271 



and devotedness to truth, she adopted, we might say 
precisely the same principle, which, in the sixth age, 
had been declared and acted on in this once enlight- 
ened country. 

" Respect for primitive times was shown by the 
Church of England, not alone in her articles of faith 
but also in her formularies of devotion. She did not, 
indeed, gather up such spoils as that besotted Roman 
Emperor carried back from ocean as the appropriate 
tribute to his virtues ; and parade the tingling of bells, 
and the sprinkling of water, and superfluous lights, 
and the inconvenience of unnecessary censers, as the 
best legacies antiquity had bequeathed. The Church 
of England well may yield such honours to those 
who love to wear them. Let those who list, claim 
the exclusive glory of imitating ancient times, in 
particulars which ancient sages have not esteemed 
worthy of being noticed ; let them boast that their 
shrines have a more gorgeous embellishment, that 
their vestments are more curiously embroidered, and 
that their ceremonies are more cumbrous and more 
theatrical ; but, to collect from antiquity whatsoever 
can improve the heart and enlighten the under- 
standing, to be in unison with the primitive Church 
in reverence for God's holy Scriptures, to retain those 
prayers and supplications which were heard from the 
pious of early times, and which faithfully minister 
true religion ; to construct a form of public worship 
which shall consult less for the senses than the un- 
derstanding, which shall be contrived less for the in- 
dulgence of the fancy than the amelioration of the 
heart, and yet which shall be suitable to all the fa- 
culties of man's nature, and accommodated to all the 
necessity of his condition, be this the honour of the 
Church of England, be this her art, these her ''bar- 
barous accomplishments." 

The unrivalled authority, observes Bishop Jebb, 
ascribed by the Church of England to the written 



272 



GUIDE TO AN 



word, is a fact of such notoriety, as to supersede the 
necessity of express evidence. Her subordinate re- 
verence for pious antiquity, may be less obvious to 
the superficial observer ; but it admits of no less irre- 
fragable proof. 

The liturgy of our Church is a permanent and sub- 
stantial witness. Regard for ancient faith and piety 
is manifest in every page, and almost every paragraph 
of that incomparable work ; derived, as it is, for the 
most part, from the actual forms, and accordant, as it 
is, in all parts, with the spirit and feeling, of Christian 
antiquity. Nor was this derivation and accordance 
the mere growth of circumstances ; it was the delibe- 
rate result of free choice, and discriminative wisdom. 
In the preface to the Common Prayer, concerning 
the service of the Church," we are directed to 
search out by the ancient Fathers, for the original 
and ground of divine service." And, in the same pre- 
face, " the godly and decent order of the ancient Fa- 
thers," is referred to, as the standard of our worship. 
But the standard of our worship is, in truth, the 
standard of our faith. For, we may boldly challenge 
our adversaries, to produce any one article of our 
faith, which is not contained in the formularies of 
our worship, or any one sentence in the formularies 
of our worship, which is not, in letter, or in spirit, 
contained in the writings of the ancient Church."'^ 

* The following" extract is from a work, to which it is not be- 
coming that I should offer praise. It has had its honour, and 
it has experienced the common fate of most modern attempts 
to assert principles without conciliating* party or power : — 

The reign of Edward the Sixth seems to have been in- 
tended, principally, to give form and consistency to the 
new doctrines which had g-ained, in the preceding reign, 
considerable strength, though they enjoyed such a limited 
toleration. As under Henry the circumstances of the times, 
the character of the prince, and a variety of singular events, 
gave a direction to the spirit of reformation by which the 
object to be attained was most likely to be accomplished, — 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



273 



Thus the Liturgy of the Church of England has 
been not only an instrument of devotion, but also a 
guardian of the faith ; while the ceremonies which the 
Church of Rome has substituted in place of prayer, 
are of a character to admit of so wide a latitude of in- 
terpretation, that, as we have already seen, the Ritual 
which conveyed to the Irish Gentleman the touching 
story of the early Church, reminding him of night 
and unwholesome caverns, was intended to signify 
the death and passion of our Lord Christ, and the 

sounder Edward those persons became invested with power, 
who, by their learning", piety, and the confidence which was 
reposed in them, were the best qualified for advancing its 
growth, and conferring upon it that character by which it 
might be afterwards enabled to outlive the change of times, 
and to withstand the shock of accident. It is obvious that 
those forms of worship which are accommodated to the en- 
thusiastic strains of piety in which all new sectaries love to 
indulge, are little suited to the more subdued and chastened 
devotion which prevails, after the angry passions, which 
have been roused up and kept alive by controversy, have 
been tranquillized, and after the people may have subsided 
into a greater degree of sober-mindedness. Many feelings, 
not of a religious nature, enter unawares into the minds of 
men, who, no matter with what sincerity soever they may 
be engaged in the search of truth, are opposed to power, 
undergoing hardships, and suflPerings and persecutions ; and 
these they unavoidably communicate to their followers, who 
thus become filled with a spirit, \vhich, though well calcu- 
lated at the time for sustaining their faith and disseminating 
their principles, cannot last longer than the exasperating 
circumstances which had produced it remain, and must en- 
tirely vanish as soon as their religion shall liave attained any 
tolerable degree of composure and stability. It should, 
therefore, be the object of the wise and enlightened re- 
former, in embodying a form of prayer which he proposes 
to be fixed and permanent, to proceed in his work w^ith as 
little reference as possible to the passions and prejudices of 
the times. Thus alone can his labours be attended, ulti- 
matelv, with the requisite success ; and thus alone is he 
likely to attain a truly humble and dutiful expression of 
Christian feeling, — Agency of Divine Providence, p. 60, 



274 



GUIDE TO AN 



Gospel which was preached to all nations. Such 
diversity of explanation must ever result from framing" 
public prayers in a language not understood of the 
congregation, and relying on pictures, and gestures, 
and ceremonies, to convey intelligence of the suppli- 
cations made, and the mercies commemorated. The 
Church of Rome is distinguished from all Protestant 
communions, and opposed to the letter as well as the 
spirit of God's word, in their appointment of their 
Latin Mass, 

To a reflecting man it will be very difficult to ex- 
cuse the departure from a Scriptural precept in the 
adoption of an unknown tongue. He can find no 
apology for such an adoption in its advantages, and 
no authority for it in edifying example. It was not 
in an unknown tongue Christ instructed his disciples, j| 
when they besought that he would teach them to pray. 
It was not an unknown tongue the apostle recom- 
mended, when he said, If I pray in an unknown 
tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is 
unprofited. How is it then ? I will pray with the 
spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also." 
The Scriptures are full of instances in which prayer 
is recited, as having been uttered by individuals, as 
addressed by an assembled people — can any instance 
be produced of prayer made in an unknown tongue, 
and recommended as a salutary practice? Surely the ||| 
answer to this question is of no light moment. If, 
throughout the entire expanse of the Scriptures, amidst 
the various instances of private and public prayers 
with which it is illustrated, we find everywhere clear 
and cogent assurance that effectual petition was 
breathed out in a language which the supplicant un- 
derstood, and are instructed, that the only record of 
prayer in an unknown tongue has been accompanied 
with a reprobation of the practice — how shall it be || 
maintained that those notions of dignity or conveni- 9 
ence which would uphold a system rejected alike by I 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



275 



reason and revelation, are notions which may be re- 
tained by those who in the slightest degree respect 
the authority of man's judgment, or of the Holy 
Scriptures. 

The Church of England, as all Protestant commu- 
nions, holds, that the prayer of the spirit and the un- 
derstanding, is the reasonable service which the Lord 
approves ; and cannot discern in the uniformity which 
ignorance accompanies, or the varieties of thought and 
opinion to which it affords occasion, anything which 
can justify or excuse an unauthorized and unprece- 
dented practice. She sees too, as its consequences, 
evils very deeply to be deplored. She sees, in the 
compulsory adoption of the Roman tongue, a provi- 
sion for that " attractive Paganism," by which Chris- 
tianity has been disfigured ; and can well understand 
how, through its aid, the mythology of Roman poets, 
and the morals of Roman philosophers may have in- 
sensibly chequered the purity of Christian doctrine, 
and vitiated the excellence of Christian precepts. 
She can understand how idolatry, conquered and put 
down from its high places, may have retained the 
virulence of its animosity against pure religion, and, 
unable to combat in open war, studied cunning de- 
vices, and waged its language against the cross. By 
this artifice, the great mass of mankind became ex- 
cluded from the benefits of public prayer; by this, 
Christian truth became corrupted in heathen exposi- 
tion, and men were persuaded to believe that a form 
daily repeated — originally a representation rendered 
necessary by the employment of a strange tongue, 
was in power and mystery, no less awful and appal- 
ling than that stupendous sacrifice of which it was a 
memorial. Let any member of the Church of Rome 
seriously reflect on the Missal and the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer, and declare which is the reasonable 
service." But, perhaps too much has been said on a 
practice which admits not of defence. The silence 



276 



GUIDE TO AN 



of the Irish Gentleman, his inability to extort a testi- 
mony in favour of this abomination, has left prayer 
in an unknown tongue, " a forsaken cause" which 
requires no formal condemnation. 

" The Liturgy of our Church is a permanent and 
substantial witness." This is a very important point 
of view in which the formularies of religion should 
be regarded. Articles of subscription serve to the 
same end, providing that, where there is honesty of 
intention, there shall be correspondence of character 
between the doctrines to be believed and the heart 
and understanding which are to receive them. It is 
sometimes said, that it would be quite sufficient to 
require the agreement of a minister to one or two 
leading points of faith, and leave him a Christian 
freedom of election in all matters of minor importance. 
But this so called freedom m.ay be extremely injurious 
to both minister and congregation. There is, perhaps, 
no great truth which is not affected by considerations 
which, to the superficial, seem unconnected with it. 
Those who have reflected much on the operations of 
their minds, are conscious that almost every important 
thought has, as it were, some satellites which never 
fail to accom.pany it; and, although the connection 
may not be at flrst apparent, yet the constant recur- 
rence of some of the secondary ideas when the prin- 
cipal has been remembered, and of the primary, when 
the subordinate notions present themselves, shov/s 
that they all constitute one system. In religious doc- 
trine, it will not be denied by the reflecting, that arti- 
cles of the first importance are intimately concerned 
in matters of seemingly little moment, and that the 
interests of a great truth may be very seriously preju- 
diced by false notions respecting some of its depen- 
dancies so remote as to be thought wholly unconnected 
with it. The articles serve as warnings to mark out 
the space within which it is safe and profitable to have 
the mind employed. The Church of England re- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



277 



quires that its ministers shall understand and believe 
them. It thus endeavours to ascertain what manner 
of men shall be entrusted with its high commission, 
and to secure the species of instruction which its 
children are to receive. He w^ho reflects upon the 
Articles of the Church of England will see, that, even 
in the less obviously important, they are well con- 
trived to guard the great doctrines of faith ; and he 
will, it is probable, find reason to believe that truths 
of the utmost moment may be lost, by the corruption 
of apparently unconnected principles, with no less 
certainty than the interests of a great nation may suffer 
by the destruction of her colonies. 

The evils which have arisen, from the want of some 
species of subscription, are too numerous and too well 
known to need a comment. The notorious fact that 
a minister, and almost his entire congregation, have 
differed upon essential points of Christian faith, and 
have maintained their connection, because it was not 
necessary that the teacher should make public pro- 
fession of his belief, is quite sufficient to show the 
security which may be afforded in that public recital 
of a formulary of belief, which constitutes an essential 
part of the Church of England service. But, it may 
be asked, why require more- — why compel the mi- 
nister to assent more solemnly than the members of 
his congregation to Articles not of sufficient magnitude 
to have a place in our creeds ? The subscription of 
the minister is required, because he is to instruct; 
because it is necessary not only that he preach the 
great truths of the Gospel, but that he preach nothing 
alien, nothing derogatory thereto; and this, it is pro- 
bable, he might do, if he were a person incapable of 
understanding the Articles of the Church of England, 
or, if he disregarded the directions and the warnings 
they are well calculated to convey to him. 

By means of the Liturgy, the public service, in 
which it is impossible for both minister and congre- 
2 A 



278 



GUIDE TO AN 



gation to be deceived, (by which, indeed, it is pro- 
vided, that, whatever the minister be, he must declare 
the doctrine of the Church,) the permanence, as it 
has been wisely observed, of our Church system has 
been studiously cared for. It may be added, that, in 
the sermon, necessai-y to complete our public formu-' 
laries of devotion, provision is made that the Church 
shall keep pace with the advance of society ; the mi- 
nister being stimulated by the exactments of a public 
and periodical duty, to order his studies and his habits 
of thinking, so as that all his faculties and arguments 
shall be dedicated to the great object of illustrating 
Christian truth and exemplifying the efficacy of the 
Church in which he is a teacher. 

Thus, it may be said, is Mr. Coleridge's noble 
idea of a perfect system realized in the structure of 
the Church of England. It has been careful of the 
two essential principles, permanency and progres- 
sion. With sufficient power of accommodation to the 
necessities whhic may arise, or the changes which 
may take place in society as knowledge advances, it 
is effectually guarded against such concession, to the 
caprices of a fickle people, or the circumstances of a 
difficult period, as might cause it to lose its distinctive 
character, and forfeit its independent station. Against 
all departures from the principle of the Church, the 
book of Common Prayer will be a permanent and 
substantial witness;" and while each minister in the 
Church of England collects the lights of modern art 
and literature, to illustrate and recommend the sacred 
truths he is privileged to declare, the liturgy, by 
which, in part, his mind has been formed, is a link 
of association with early times, and causes our Church 
to be at the present day, with such accommodations 
as altered circumstances demand, the same that it 
was in the times of Polycarp or Ireneeus. 

The Church of Rome, with all its boastful preten- 
sions, has no such accommodation to present times, 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



279 



and no such carefulness for the doctrines and prac- 
tices of antiquity. 

Its character is such, that as knowledge increases, 
it must decline. Most consistently, therefore, it pro- 
nounces that the reason of its votaries shall not be 
free, and that the noblest faculties of the human mind 
must toil in a condition which, if they were indulged 
with the slave's hope, might be compared to that of 
the wretched diamond searchers, to w^hom the costli- 
ness of the splendid productions for which they 
painfully explore, renders the tyranny which encloses 
them more cruel, and the suspicion under which they 
ply their miserable task, more vigilant and hateful. 
They, however, have a hope that they may discover 
the gem of great price, and be made free ; but the 
slave of Rome cannot call his friends and neighbours 
to rejoice with him. He calls down a curse as he 
essays to go forth, and, if power second the will of 
the despotism which would coerce him, the efforts to 
detain or destroy will not be confined to the launch- 
ing of spiritual maledictions. 

But, it has been said that the Church of England 
is a partaker in the iniquity of uncharitable denun- 
ciations. She has adopted the Athanasian Creed, and 
while she makes open profession that none who dis- 
believe the doctrine declared in that confession of 
faith, can be saved, she ought to be regarded as no 
less uncharitable and presumptuous than the Church 
which receives the Creed of Pius IV. 

The cases are different. The utmost that can be 
charged upon the Athanasian Creed is, that it pro- 
nounces as essential to salvation those great doctrines 
which the great majority of Christian congregations 
hold. There is some difference between this, and the 
invoking condemnation on all who will not receive 
all the articles of all the general councils, Lateran 
and Constance inclusive; who will not receive tradi- 
tions of which they know not the nature or name ; 



280 



GUIDE TO AN 



who will not swear true obedience to a potentate 
towards whom the character of true obedience has 
never yet been ascertained ; who will not, in short, 
undertake to receive whatever, as an object of faith, 
his Church may propose to them. There surely is 
difference here, even supposing the charge against 
the Church of England substantiated to its full extent. 

In the second place, a difference must be acknow- 
ledged between the language of caution and that of 
malediction. The Church of Rome says, whosoever 
will not believe this let him be accursed — Anathema 
esto. The Church of England prays for all heretics 
and schismatics, but at the same time delivers the 
warning, that certain doctrines are to be received 
as necessary to salvation. But why does she utter 
such a warning?'*^ Because otherwise she would not 
be a faithful Church, the Church of Christ. He ut- 
tered a warning when he commissioned his Apostles 
to teach. Were they to declare the doctrine, and 
suppress the lawful sanction by which it is to be 
enforced, they would have executed but half the 
duty assigned to them. Christ said, he that believeth 
not shall be damned ; it is not true charity which, 
through fear of encountering the censure of super- 
ficial minds, or disturbing the repose of indifferent, 
would shrink from the solemn duty of pronouncing 
the whole truth as it is in Jesus, and being faithful 
ministers of him who would not break the bruised 

* That our blessed Lord himself annexed a warning to 
the confimission he gave the apostles should lead us to be- 
lieve, that he will make it possible for all who come within 
the reach of instruction to believe in doctrines which are 
necessary not only because of positive precept but for their 
salutary influence on the soul. The reasoning of superfi- 
cial men is, condemnation should not be annexed to, per- 
haps unavoidable, unbelief. The more correct inference 
would be, condemnation has been pronounced upon unbe- 
lief, therefore God will make belief attainable. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



281 



reed nor quench the smoking flax, but who would 
have souls awakened to a sense of their everlasting 
interests by all the motives, fear as well as hope and 
love, of which our natures are susceptible. 

In truth the only question which should be pro- 
posed respecting the cautions with which a Church 
may declare her doctrines is this ; are they so applied 
as the head and founder of the Church directed. Let 
the Church of England be tried by this test, and the 
warning by which she bespeaks attention to the great 
doctrines of the Catholic Faith will no longer be 
confounded or classed w-ith the Anathemas by which 
the Church of Komc reprobates all dissent from the 
creed of Pope Pius. In a word, the caution which 
the Church of England addresses is applied to the 
enunciation of the same doctrines to which the head 
of the Church applied it, and is to be understood in 
the same sense and with the same qualifications.* 

It will be admitted by all who reflect, that the case 

• That the Church of England is merely the faithful 
minister in pronouncing* her warnings, may be readily un- 
derstood by any one who will reflect on our Lord's com- 
mission to the apostles, as given in the concluding chapters 
of the Gospels according to St. Matthew and St. Mark. It 
is evident, that, in both, the same discourse is related ; each 
Evangehst relating some one part more fully than the other. 
It is not, therefore, incorrect to read thus : 

St. Matthew, xxviii. 19. " Go ye therefore, and teach all 
nations, baptizing tliem in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 

St. Mark, xvi. 16. " He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." 

It might, perhaps, be well had these Scriptural expres- 
sions been read in the place of the present preamble of the 
Athanasian Creed. The creed itself, (which is an exposi- 
tion of the Faith,) is comprehended between the words 
« The Catholic faith is this'' and « This is the Catholic 
faith and the verses of Scripture might, perhaps with ad- 
vantage, be substituted for the expressions which at present 
precede and follow the Confession of Faith, 

2 A 2 



282 



GUIDE TO AN 



of that Church which warns in charity and truth 
where our Lord himself had uttered a solemn caution, 
is very different from that of the Church which pro- 
nounces a malediction, if, in the most trivial prrlicular 
of her peculiar creed, she experience dissent or doubt. 
Other distinctions no less remarkable, and scarcely 
less favourable to the Church of England, will also 
present themselves to those, who, with the most 
ordinary attention, look for truth ; for example, the 
Church of Rome, boasting her infallibility, cannot 
refer her children or her adversaries to a single docu- 
ment in which her faith is authoritatively declared. 
She is like a bankrupt who cannot produce his books, 
and should not be free from the suspicion w^hich such 
an evidence of unfairness is accounted to justify. The 
Church of England, it is unnecessary to say, makes 
her profession and formulary of faith and worship 
public. The Church of Rome (however difficulty of 
circumstances or individual benevolence may have 
inconsistently relaxed the prohibition) straitly forbids 
the Bible to her children. The Church of England, 
even in her public devotions, as if she would always 
have the rule of God's word before her, makes the 
reading of Scripture a main part of her forms of 
worship. But it is unnecessary to continue ; the 
Church of Rome denies the right of private judg- 
ment; the Church of England educates and assists 
the faculties which God has given ; the Church of 
England prays for and cautions those who disbelieve 
the great truths of religion ; the Church of Rome 
curses all who will not receive her dogmas with im- 
plicit reverence. The Church of England proposes 
her belief openly and with authority, so as that all 
men may say, thus and thus hath she taught ; this is 
the Church of England. The Church of Rome 
makes no such profession ; she resides with infalli- 
bility ; and infallibility has never condescended to 
manifest its presence in any accredited form of be- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



283 



lief; she offers individual testimony, contradictory- 
opinions ; and has no uniformity except in the belief 
that all must be damned who dare to judge for them- 
selves. Such is the Church of Rome ; a monstrous 
nightmare, without form or consistence, whose power 
is in the stagnation of abused human faculties, not in 
its own strength or subtlety ; and which, if the judg- 
ment or the will can make but a single exertion to 
discover that horror of thick darkness, or cast off that 
fell oppression, disperses and leaves its victim free. 

*'The Church of England," it has been well said, 
"has always been more anxious to maintain a unity 
of spirit in the bond of peace, than a miity of profes- 
sion in the bond of ignorance. She knows that the 
diversities, apparent in the protestant community, are 
the diversities discovered by light; and that the 
uniformity presented in the Roman Cathohc Church 
is an uniformity occasioned by dai^iess. She can 
no more on that account prefer popery to protestant- 
ism than she can prefer night to day." 

"The Church of England loves order and disci- 
pline, but dislikes constraint and persecution. She 
would maintain her influence not by terror but by 
love. Hers is a mild and gentle sw^ay ; and she aims 
at no more than inspiring her children with a free 
and filial obedience. Our Lord has himself used the 
comparison of a hen extending her wings over her 
callow brood, to express the concern which he felt 
for the Jewish people, and the tender protection 
which he would have afforded them against impend- 
ing calamities if they had hearkened to his voice. 
The same may be used to express the feelings with 
which the Church of England regards not only those 
who come to, and remain with, but those who leave 
her. Although she cannot love them all as her own, 
or see, without anxiety, some go to the woods and 
some to the water, yet she regrets not, on that ac- 
count, having afforded them the fostering warmth 



284 



GUIDE TO AN 



whereby they were quickened into Ufe ; and she is 
comforted by the persuasion, that although they have 
ceased to have her for their mother, they have not 
therefore ceased to have God for their father ; and 
that, in many instances, those M^hom she has lost on 
€arth she will find in heaven."* 

But we are not required to beheve that our Church 
is absolutely perfect. On the contrary, we are in- 
cited, by a sense of human infirmity, to be perpe- 
tually on our guard against those circumstances in 
the shifting changes of society which may impair its 
. utility, and to use our utmost endeavours that its ad- 
vantages may be as great as its soundness is approved 
or its excellence undoubted. 

Should it hereafter be the duty of any among my 
hearers to minister in country parishes, small expe- 
rience will be sufficient to convince them, that this 
picture is not overcharged, that the standard of our 
Liturgical service is far above the average moral level 
of the country, of the Protestants of the country ; 
that its conceptions are too pure, its fervours too 
chaste, its whole spirit too calm and elevated, to be 
discerned by the rude or relished by the carnal. 
What, then — shall we lower our Liturgy to the taste 
of the multitude ? God forbid. On the contrary, we 
must apply ourselves with all anxious diligence to 
elevate the public mind up to the Liturgy and the 
Church."t 

Such is the language of one who was well ranked 
among the most distinguished of modern divines. 
How desirable that the wisdom of his precepts were 
reahzed in practice. Modern notions of reform are 
of a directly opposite character. They are, to ac- 
commodate the Church to the caprices of the times, 
instead of endeavouring to recommend it to the rea- 

* Observations occasioned by the letter of J. K. L, 
J Remains of Doctor Phelan. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



285 



son of an instructed people. Is tliere a hope that 
suggestions of a different species of reform may be 
heard, and that, amidst present clamours, attention 
can be gained to the consideration of a particular in 
which the interests of Church and people have been 
neglected, and to (what scarcely needs a formal state- 
ment, if the evil be confessed,) the proposal of a 
remedy. 

The Church which acknowledges the right of 
private judgment is especially bound to satisfy that 
judgment, the exercise of which it encourages. It 
is not very surprising that this obligation should not 
have always been present to the minds of those who 
govern in our Church, and that their admiration for 
the form of sound words, of which they understood 
the excellence, indisposed them to feel the necessity 
of providing for the great mass of the people such 
assistance as should enable them also to appreciate 
the Liturgy. The Church of England, in its public 
forms, is not more distinguished from some commu- 
nions by its uniformity of prayer, than it should be 
from the Church of Rome by the variety which may 
be found in its forms of exhortation. Abstaining in 
its public prayer from those occasional and incidental 
references which may serve to excite attention, it 
possesses in the discourse, without which the Sab- 
bath service is incomplete, provision for explaining 
the character of its worship and its creed, and show- 
ing how admirably it is accommodated to the wants 
of man, and in how faithful subserviency it acts to 
the lessons of our blessed Redeemer. 

Thus, the Church of England is especially and 
pre-eminently a preaching Church. She has given 
up, on the one hand, the sights and sounds, the dog- 
mas and the practices, by which the Church of Rome 
upholds her influence. On the other hand, she has 
denied to her ministers and members the advantages 
which may be found in great diversity and incidental 



286 



GUIDE TO AN 



applications. What has she taken instead ? A uni- 
form system of prayer, to guard against the evils of 
inconsiderate variety ; a reasonable service in a known 
tongue, and the foolishness of preaching," to set 
men's minds on right things, and preclude the perils 
with the advantages of appliances which might cause 
the thoughts of a congregation to centre within their 
Church, rather than be uplifted to Him for whose 
service the Church was appointed. 

Can any reflecting man look upon the actual work- 
ings of the Church of England, without becoming 
persuaded, that, in no particular has she made less 
provision for the discharge of a most important duty, 
than in the department of preaching. Perhaps there 
never was, at any period of modern times, indeed of 
any times, a more exemplary and excellent body of 
men than the parochial clergy of Ireland. Their 
knowledge, their benevolence, and the purity of their 
lives, needs not my feeble eulogy. They have had 
their praise where praise is fame, and needed not that 
the "splendour of adversity" should be cast upon 
them, to render their excellence still more conspicu- 
ous. But while the merits of the parish ministers 
have won strong attestations, it must be confessed, 
that the circumstances in which they are placed are 
not of that character which favours their endeavours 
to render the Church a great instrument of public 
good, by the efficacy of their preaching. 

It is absolutely necessary, here, to direct a brief 
attention to the distribution of Church property, be- 
cause much of efficiency of any system must depend ^ 
on the manner in which its revenues are applied. 
Perhaps the first observation that occurs to one who 
looks upon the statistics of the Church in Ireland is, 
that the towns appear to have been regarded as of less 
consequence than the rural districts, in the provision 
made for their religious instruction. While the in- 
comes of many of the parochial clergy in the country 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



287 



are not certainly above the deserts of those by whom 
they are held, they would seem to have but little re- 
ference to their peculiar exigencies. It is, undoubt- 
edly, an anomaly, that ecclesiastical property shall 
be so distributed, as that, in almost all the towns, 
where calls upon the charity of individuals are so 
frequent, and where the necessary expenses of living 
are considerable, the income of the minister of reli- 
gion shall be such, as, to a man born and educated 
as the clergy of the Church generally are, must be 
scanty. In consequence, the course of promotion 
is, from the duties of a town life, to retirement in the 
country. In this it may be said, the evil is not ap- 
parent ; but, if it be taken into account, that the con- 
gregation of a town is not that which should be left 
dependant on the instructions of a young person, one 
whose character and habits of thought have not yet 
been formed, and who, with the natural extravagance 
of youth, is perhaps studious of ornament, and am- 
bitious of producing strong excitement, rather than 
earnest in advancing those sober truths, the moment 
of which, it may be, maturity of life can alone bring 
with it the power of understanding, the inference will 
not be deemed unreasonable that the endowments of 
a town parish should be such as w^ould in all likeli- 
^- hood, insure to it the religious instruction and super- 
intendence of one who had reached the full stature 
of mental growth, and who was at liberty, without 
distraction of thought or too great variety of duties, 
to give himself up to the advocacy and elucidation of 
Christian doctrine. 

The condition of the clergy in our great towns, 
then, if a real reformation be desired in the Church, 
should be carefully sought out and examined. It will 
be found that the natural influences have had their 
effect in the instance of every other body of minis- 
ters, and that the Church of Rome as well as the 
various congregations of dissenters, have their best 



288 



GUIDE TO AN 



endowments where the highest order of services is 
most needed. The Church of England has not been 
careful to make similar provision. 

In the next place, it is very desirable, that, in some 
particular instances, there should be a separation 
made between the duties of a preacher, and those of 
the parish minister. It is essential that facilities 
should be afforded for the cultivation and exercise of 
talents, from which, under good government, the 
cause of religion and order would derive even more 
benefit, than from their exercise under less favourable 
circumstances it is likely to take hurt. The influence 
of a wise, and earnest, and attractive discourse, can 
scarcely be too highly estimated ; and those who are 
desirous to see the best interests of religion advanced, 
may understand what an auxiliary they would have 
in the sober eloquence of wisdom, if they will but 
reflect upon the nature of the human heart, and see 
how much damage a good cause has sustained from 
inconsiderate but attractive declamation. The minis- 
ters of the Church of England in large towns, en- 
gaged in absorbing and fatiguing duties have little 
time to prepare for a task which is not be accounted 
light ; namely, the conveying to a diversified con- 
gregation, the instruction upon which many may, 
perhaps, be altogether dependant for their religious 
knowledge. Such circumstances are not favourable 
to the developement of the excellencies of the 
Church. Surely they ought to be amended. 

In truth, it is in towns, now especially, the efii- 
cacy of the Church of England should be felt and 
exhibited. There was a time when the rural popu- 
lation constituted the great strength of the nation, 
and demanded the most attention. Peace, and war, 
and commerce, have produced great alterations ; and 
masses of men have become congregated in towns, 
who are brought more under the excitement of novel 
influences, and who are more disposed for change. 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



289 



If the Church of England had been observant of this 
alteration during its progress, and supplied those who 
had crowded into the moral wilderness of commerce 
and maQufactures, with the living bread which sus- 
tains spiritual life, the character of society would not 
wear the aspect which it has, unhappily, assumed ; 
and if, even now, an effort be made to remedy the 
neglect, which has become so apparent in its dis- 
astrous consequences, a blessing will come upon the 
good endeavour, and God will grant a mitigation of 
evil. 



2b 



290 



GUIDE TO AN 



CONCLUDING ADDRESS TO THE ROMAN CATHO- 
LIC READER. 



You who have journeyed with me over the weary 
and rugged road through which it was my office to 
be your guide, bear with me, if, in parting, I address 
you with a brief word of Christian exhortation. You 
are yet free to determine a matter in which your 
eternal welfare is involved. Use your diUgence ; be 
fervent in prayer, that you may determine wisely. 
You are passing through this life rapidly — you know 
not at what moment your course may be ended, and 
your light extinguished. Avail yourselves of the ac- 
cepted time which God has given, and study to learn 
His will, who may, you know not in what moment, 
summon you to his judgment. 

You are taught to believe that Christ founded a 
Church on earth, and communicated to it the pro- 
mise of a glorious inheritance. You learn that two 
systems, strikingly contrasted with each other, claim, 
each, the glory of being the Church of which the 
Lord of Life is the head — that one of these makes 
its appeal to the Word of God, and directs you to 
satisfy yourself there as to " what is truth" — that the 
other puts that word away from you, and ordains that 
you shall seek no farther than her own word, because 
God hath bestowed upon her the privilege that she 
cannot err. Will you be contented to receive, with- 
out inquiry, the professions of the one Church or the 
other, — will you not give time and thought, and that 
earnestness of inquiry which puts J)assion and pre- 
judice aside, and be diligent to find the ancient paths 
in which the followers of Jesus walked, and in which 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



291 



all who enter shall find peace ? Remember that the 
only great object you should propose to yourself here 
on earth, is, that you may hereafter enter heaven. 
Do you provide most carefully for this, by consent- 
ing to give up the endowment by which, according to 
God's appointment, you are distinguished from the 
things that perish ? 

Do you, as a member of the Church of Rome, 
believe that God has set up, on this earth, a light 
which cannot mislead — has established a tribunal, 
from whose decisions He will not hear an appeal ? 
If you do, must you not — at least ought you not, in 
the same proportion as you desire God's favour, be 
solicitous to obtain the guidance, and to yield your- 
self to the authority by which it is his will you should 
be ordered and directed ? Are you sure that the 
Church of Rome rightfully challenges or claims as her 
own, this divine authority 1 What are the grounds 
of your assurance ? Her dauntless assertions ? They 
are not more daring than his were to be, whom the 
Apostle prophetically terms son of perdition," and 
who yet was " to sit as God, even in the Temple of 
God." The boast of the Roman Church cannot be 
prouder, the assumption more daring, than that of 
him whose coming, nevertheless, was to be after the 
manner of Satan. Will you then believe, on no 
other evidence than unsupported assertion, that God 
hath imparted to the Church of which you are a 
member, a portion of that attribute in which, your 
own reason, as far as you venture to use it, must 
strongly admonish you, nothing created can partici- 
pate ! Will you, in this instance, abandon the prin- 
ciple which, upon every other occasion of your life, 
exercises strong influence over you ? Is there not, 
in all cases, an implied engagement on the part of 
him who brings strange tidings, that, in the same 
proportion as the demand on the credulity of his 
hearers is startling, so shall the evidence be con- 



292 



GUIDE TO AN 



straining, by which he maintains his claim to be 
believed ? Is it a moderate claim for any establish- 
ment upon this earth to set up, that, upon important 
matters, it cannot err, — that, in a fallen world — con- 
stituted of fallen materials — tempted within, assaulted 
from without, by all vice and ungodliness, it has yet 
preserved the deposit of the faith so pure, that what- 
soever it defines, declares, and decrees, must be 
received with an obedience prompt as we are bound 
to yield to the word of the living God ? Is this a 
moderate claim ? Infallibility ! ! ! I beseech you to 
take counsel of your reason. Is there aught in which 
you feel the omnipotent Jehovah more peculiarly 
distinguished from the creatures he hath made, than 
in this attribute, which the Churh of Rome chal- 
lenges as her own ? It is the condition of man to 
be liable to error; and, so far as human agency is 
necessary to the administration of the holiest institu- 
tion, so far exposure to error must be experienced. 
Is it, then, an ordinary demand upon you, to believe 
that the Church of Rome has been exempted from 
this liability, and that the accusations of history 
against her, proclaiming that she has been perfidious, 
unholy, cruel, should have no effect in lessening the 
cordiality of your assent to the asseveration, that 
nevertheless, she is infallible ? Is this a moderate 
claim ? Is it safe, without evidence, to receive it ? 
Do you require proof even for the existence of God? 
Will you, without proof, believe that he has made 
the Church of Rome partaker in his infallibility ? 

If you are among those who, without proof or ex- 
amination, receive as truth, the declarations of the 
Roman Church, it is, be assured of very great mo- 
ment, that you search diligently, within your heart, 
the motives by which you have been afiected. Some 
natures acquiesce in dogmas against which reason 
would revolt, rather than tax their faculties with the 
labour of patient deliberation ; and are willing to ac- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



293 



cede to the most extravagant pretensions of the most 
aspiring Church, rather than be at the pains of ex- 
amining whether these pretensions appear just, ac- 
cording to the light by which God has enabled them 
to discriminate truth from falsehood. It has, also, 
frequently happened, that individuals thus easy with 
respect to their admission of spiritual claims, are, 
by no means, indifferent, in things relating to tem- 
poral advantage. As to the promise of future felicity; 
as to the menace of the judgment ; as to the way and 
the truth ; the resurrection and the life ; all that con- 
cerns man, in his relation to a spiritual world, they 
are not very scrupulous in determining upon whom 
their reliance should be reposed ; but, if a confidence 
is demanded, by which their worldly interests may, 
in aught, be compromised, they will exercise no 
ordinary diligence, and, if the affair be of importance, 
will not suffer their eyes to take rest, while occupied 
in the interesting inquiry where they should place 
their trust. Is the heart of a man set on right things 
whose feelings are such towards heaven and towards 
the world ? What, do you imagine, does God expect 
of his creatures ? Even if you are uninstructed by 
the Bible, may not human reason teach you that he 
demands not alone obedience to a law obtruded on 
them, but, also, a solicitude to learn his will as well 
as to do it ? And, if there be found men, knowing 
themselves dependant on the divine mercy for every 
blessing which they possess, and, yet, indisposed to 
examine whether God has established a rule by the 
observance of which they may prove themselves not 
ungrateful ; if they are very watchful that their fellow- 
men should fail in no point of service or respect to 
them, while they are altogether careless, whether 
unto God shall be rendered the honour which is his 
due ; if, because a Church declare itself commis- 
sioned to exact and receive a tribute which (appa- 
rently) should be yielded only to our Almighty author, 
2 B 2 



294: 



GUIDE TO AN 



a pretext be afforded them for indulging the indo- 
lence of corrupt nature, and occasion seized for 
profaning a divine honour, do you imagine that an 
unreasoning acquiescence in such a claim is a slight 
or pardonable error of the judgment ? 

Could the enemy of souls devise a more effectual 
means of upholding his dominion, than the setting 
up of an establishment, whatever it might be, which 
should serve to engage and attach to itself the reve- 
rence belonging to the Lord ! I am not now speaking 
of the character of the Church of Rome. Our con- 
siderations are, for the present, limited to the care- 
fulness with which she would prevent her character 
from being examined. But, I repeat my question ; 
could Satan provide for himself a more useful sup- 
port than in the establishment of an institution which 
should profess to be of God, and yet prohibit men 
from learning what God had taught ? The prince of 
the powers of darkness dare not, in his own undis- 
guised nature, seek proselytes upon the earth ; but, 
if he can succeed, in turning sinners from the path 
which leads to peace, if he can withdraw creatures 
sick unto death from the blessed region where the 
sun of righteousness shineth, and where the gales are 
airs of healing, if he can procure for the germ of de- 
cay in the inner man, unmolested power and scope 
to mature its withering energy ; if he can lead from 
a system of which God is the life, and detain the 
ransomed of the Lord amidst superstitions which 
counterfeit divine mysteries, and under the govern- 
ment of a pride which challenges adoration as its 
right, has he not as surely made a prey of the lost 
and rejected beings whom he has enthralled, as if, at 
his first approach, they viewed the ruler of fallen 
angels and worshipped him as their God ? 

You owe it to your hopes of eternal life, and, if 
you love the Church of Rome, you owe it to her, to 
ascertain the warranty for her doctrines and preten- 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



295 



sions. You owe it to her, so far as you have power, 
to ascertain this, not learning merely from her un- 
accredited statements, but examining the evidence to 
which she refers, and examining, with equal careful- 
ness, the evidence offered by those who assert that 
she would detain you in dangerous and deadly error. 
As you would not then, in heedlessness, make ship- 
wreck of your soul — as you would not have claims 
which might, perhaps, derive support from God's 
word, received without examination and defended 
without authority — and, above all, as you would not 
rashly accuse the Divine Majesty of having seduced 
you into error, imputing to the Holy Spirit, the evils 
of your own ignorance and supineness ; judge for 
yourselves, whether the Church of Rome teach the 
truth. 

Protestants affirm, upon the authority of the divine 
word, that she hath corrupted the truth ; that her 
doctrines are false — her practices unholy — and that 
her ambition is the ambition of him who, for his 
pride, was cast out of heaven. We affirm, that, how- 
ever moderated expression may disguise the enor- 
mity of most arrogant pretensions, the authority 
which the Church of Rome demands to herself, is 
no less than a divided empire with the Creator and 
Saviour of the world. In what spirit will you hear 
our accusations made ? In anger ? If we speak with- 
out evidence, we do indeed richly merit the censure 
which should be severely visited on rash and indecent 
declamation ; but, if we speak the truth ! — Oh that 
you may know — hear what we have to say with pa- 
tience — fortify yourself with all the knowledge which 
you can call in to the aid of your cherished prepos- 
sessions, but, at the same time, as you are not dedi- 
cated to the cause of your Church but to the cause of 
God, as you have not devoted yourself to an eternal 
alliance with any system which the Gospel light may 
expose as an impure and idolatrous worship — do not 



296 



GUIDE to AN 



reject the testimony of even gainsayers, if, opposed 
though it be to your prejudices, it is found, on exa- 
mination, conformable to your reason. Let the words 
of God himself have influence with you — ** stand ye 
in the ways," be found in the places where know- 
ledge may be obtained — be engaged in the pursuits 
which are in themselves salutary, and whose end is 
truth. Ask for the old paths." Yes, " the old 
paths"— the paths wherein Christ taught his disci- 
ples to walk — the paths which the early Christians, 
amidst all the fierceness of fiery persecutions, found 
to be the paths of pleasantness. Ask for those old 
paths — to which the Church of Rome boasts she alone 
can conduct you — the paths, in which she declares 
that she has always accustomed her children to walk, 
while yet she has not scrupled to call up around them 
an atmosphere impermeable to the blessed light of 
the Gospel. Yes : ask for the old paths, and if you 
find the illustrious men, the martyrs, the confessors 
of purer days, the testimony of holy Scripture, the 
deductions of human reason — if you find what is 
clearest in God's word — what is best in man — the 
venerable sanction of antiquity — the lights of culti- 
vated times — guiding you to paths which yet you 
have not known ; and if, on the other hand, the 
Church of Rome should only be able to interpose 
against all such solemn and cogent appeals, her soli- 
tary warning, her unholy malediction — what will you 
say ? will you continue in darkness ? or, will you 
come where the united energies of whatever is good, 
whatever is pure, and whatever is of good report un- 
ceasingly attract you ? 

But, it is said, the old paths are those to which the 
Church of Rome conducts. I implore God's grace 
that, if they be, you may continue in them ; — but 
whatever they be, let not your continuance be the re- 
sult of accident or indiflference. If you have not exa- 
mined, you have not chosen. The act of parents and 



IRISH GENTLEMAN. 



297 



friends has introduced you to the Church of Eome. 
In their decision, without inquiry or knowledge, 
you have acquiesced. Convert your acquiescence 
into deliberate choice, or exchange it for the rejec- 
tion of detected error. Whether the Church of 
Rome be sound or corrupt, your attachment to her 
cannot be praiseworthy, unless it imply that you 
have examined, and that you approve her. The 
word of God commands, that you ask for the old 
paths. It is not sufficient, it is not a compliance 
with his command, that you should merely ivalk in 
them. In the name then of Him who has thus 
commanded ; ask for the old paths ; ask, are the 
paths in which your steps have been conversant, 
those old good ways in which God has commanded 
you to walk ; ask how you have endeavoured to ascer- 
tain that they are. If you obtain an answer by which 
your conscience is satisfied; if you have sought, and 
sought as God directs, and if your search has ended 
in a full and clear conviction, that you know all the 
doctrines of the Church of Rome ; all the paths to 
which she directs ; and that all are holy and good ; 
pray that you may have grace to manifest the pure- 
ness of your faith in pureness of living, and that those 
who are without may see your good works and glorify 
God. But, if doubt cause itself to be felt within you ; 
if your search has not been diligent or well directed ; 
if you know not all the mysteries and labyrinths of 
the Roman Church, or, have discovered in it what 
God's word has forbidden, pray that you may be 
assisted in your further inquiries. Let your doubts 
be tried by the test of God's holy word, not resisted 
and subdued by blind obstinacy of purpose. Do not 
reject even the assistances offered in the preceding 
pages. Let the plain statements they contain be com- 
pared with the articles and arguments of the Church 
of which you are now a member. Let the entire con- 
troversy be compared with a still holier standard. If 



298 GUIDE TO AN IRISH GENTLEMAN. 

the examination of the important topics which have 
been here imperfectly discussed, be undertaken in a 
suitable spirit, the result is not matter of uncertainty. 
I have^ no fear while I pray for your success. May 
God cause the truth to prevail with you — may a di- 
vine benediction be sent down upon your labours — 
may your inquiries be so guided as to lead you into 
all truth — and may you be blessed with such a 
thorough and a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that, in all meekness and humility, you will 
follow him through the old paths — the good way — 
the way of peace — into the mansions where his dis- 
ciples shall be made like unto him, and shall know 
him as he is. 



29i> 



APPENDIX I. 

" I profess that there are truly and properly seven sacra- 
ments of the new law, instituted by our Lord," &.c. &c. — 
Creed of Pius IK 

St. Augustine, Epist. ad Januar. 

Our Lord has placed us under an easy yoke, whence by 
sacraments very few (paucissimis) in number, very easy in 
observance, most excellent in signification, he hath bound 
together the society of his new people — as is Baptism con- 
secrated in the name of the Trinity — the communion of his 
body and blood — and if there be anything else commanded 
in the Canonical Scriptures J' 

In Johan. 

*' From his side, pierced with a spear as he hung on the 
cross, the Sacraments of the Church flowed forth." 

Let him sleep in death — let his side be opened — and let 
the Virgin Church come forth, that as Eve was formed from 
the side of sleeping Adam, so the Church also may be formed 
from the side of Christ hanging on the Cross. His side was 
wounded, according to the Gospels, and immediately came 
thereout water and blood — water in which the spouse is 
purified, blood from which she is downed. 

Chiixsostom, Hom. 84. in Johan. 

" For there came forth water and blood. Not casually 
and without meaning did these fountains issue forth — but 
because of the two, the Church is constituted. The initiated 
know this — for by water they are regenerated ; in the blood 
and flesh they are nourished. Hence the Sacraments have 
their origin — that as often as you come to the sacred chalice, 
you come as if to drink from the side." 



300 



APPENDIX. 



Cyril of Alexandria. 

" Whence blood mingled with water issued forth, and was, 
as it were, a certain image and primitise of the mystical 
eucharist and holy baptism." 

Ambrose 

Has written a treatise on the Sacraments, which consists of 
discourses on Baptism and the Lord's Supper. His tacit 
rejection of the five Komish additions is the more remark- 
able, from the circumstance of his having written a treatise 
on penance, or repentance. 

EUCHARIST. 

Travels of an Irish Gentleman, p. 162, Vol. I. from Cyril 
of Jerusalem — " The bread and wine, which, before the 
invocation of the adorable Trinity, were nothing but bread 
and wine, became, after this invocation, the body and blood 
of Christ." Such is the Irish Gentleman's citation. Cyril 
wrote — " For as the bread and wine," &c. &c. ** so, in like 
manner, these meats of the pomps of Satan are in their own 
nature pure, but by invocation of daemons are rendered 
impure." 

That is to say, the change which takes place in the ele- 
ments is of the same kind with that which is effected in 
meats offered to idols; the substance of the latter (and there- 
fore of the former) remaining, the qualities of each being 
altered. 

Let this serve as a sample of the dising'enuousness or the 
indiscretion with which the Irish Gentleman quotes, and let 
one instance spare the necessity of further similar exposure. 

Cyril of Alexandria, Com. in Johan. C. 6. 

" From your thoughts, I discern, he said, that, without 
understanding, you think this earthly body has been said to 
be, in its nature^ vivifying. But this is not the scope of my 
words, for all my discourse to you is concerning the divine 
spirit and life everlasting." 

Thus Cyril, who, in tlie former part of his commentary 
on the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John, wrote in 
terms from which the advocate of Tran substantiation might 
have quoted, here explains his preceding observations, in 



APPENDIX. 



301 



such a manner as to prove that he fully assented to such a 
canon of interpretation as that which St. Augustine pro- 
posed. Cyril of Alexandria seems to have written in more 
forcible language, respecting the Eucharist, than any of his 
cotemporaries. His mind, constantly occupied in his con- 
troversy with Nestorius, finding, in the doctrine of the 
Eucharist, an argument which had much power against his 
adversary, his language, naturally, was more forcible than, 
under other circumstances, it would have been ; but it was 
sufficiently guarded by occasional explanations, such as 
made known the character of his observations on St. John. 
The Irish Gentleman has quoted what he calls a declaration 
of CyriPs on the Eucharist, which was approved by the 
Council of Ephesus. Here there are two mistakes. Cyril's 
was not a declaration of the doctrine of the Eucharist — it 
was an argumentum ad hominem employed against Nesto- 
rius, and one in which the doctrine, received in a figurative 
or a literal interpretation, would be equally effective. In 
the second place, it does not appear that there was any 
approval whatever by the Council. On the contrary, the 
passage from Cyril is found in Labbe and Cossart, among 
the things which were transacted before the meeting of the 
Council — "Qua continentur ea quae synodum antecesserunt.^^ 

Jerome, Com. in Eccl. 

** This is our only real good in the present life, if we feed 
on the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood, not only in the 
Sacrament i hut also in the reading of the Holy Scriptures, 

OaiGEN DE Recta fide. 

** But if, as they say, he had not flesh and blood, of what 
flesh or of what blood, giving bread and the cup as types^ 
did he command the disciples, through them, to commemo- 
rate him." 

The Saxon Homily for Easter (10 Century). 

" By virtue of the Word of God, it is truly his body and 
blood; yet not corporally, but spiritually." 



2c 



^02 



APPENDIX. 



I shall not occupy more space with superfluous quotations, 
but would venture to express a hope, that the copious and 
valuable selections which Mr. Finch has made, and of which 
he has bestowed some copies on his friends, he would in- 
dulge the public, and benefit a great cause, by allowing to 
be more largely distributed. 

In the text I have cited a passage from one of Dr. Phe- 
lan's admirable discourses. I cannot deny my reader the 
gratification he will derive from perusing an ampler extract. 

** It has been said, that no great and good man ever de- 
spaired of the fortunes of human kind. And of all men, 
those admirable persons who conducted our Reformation, 
were, perhaps, least influenced by any such despondency. 
They executed their task, in the fulness of faith, and even 
amidst the concussions of this tempestuous season, there are 
not a few signs, that all things are now working together, 
for the consummation which they anticipated. Their labours 
were calculated, prophetically calculated, for an advanced 
stage of human society : not merely for a stage, in which the 
arts of life, and the refinements of secular hterature, have 
been brought to a high polish ; but for a stage, in which the 
capabilities of man, in the fulness of his nature, as a being 
favoured to associate with angels, and to hold high commu- 
nion with his God, are expanded and matured. As this 
mysterious nature is more fully explored, as that kingdom 
of Christ, for which we daily pray, more visibly approaches, 
in the same proportion, will the devotional forms of our 
Church be more duly appreciated. But in the mean time, 
it has to struggle against many difficulties, because it will 
not descend to unworthy arts of popularity. It does not 
solicit, it does not acknowledge, except for the purpose of 
purifying or condemning them, any of the meaner principles 
of our nature. It has no ceremonial pantomime, to entertain 
the senses; no spell of shadowy terrors, to fascinate the will; 
no fanaticism, to agitate the sterner passions of the soul. 
It does not prophecy smooth things, or cry peace where 
there is no peace ; it does not flatter the selfishness of the 
heart, by preaching a monopoly of divine favour; it does not 
practise on the foolish pride of reason, by the introduction 
of local or incidental topics. Thus, it has less in common 
with grosser minds, than, perhaps, any other form of Chris- 
tianity in the world. It must struggle against nearly the 
same obstacles, as the Gospel itself; against slowness of 
heart, darkness of intellect, torpor of conscience, to some 
appearing a stumbling-block; to others, foolishness," 



303 



APPENDIX 11. 

The reader has seen many instances of the manner in which 
the Fathers have been, by a process of torture, constrained 
to testify to what, in their hearts, they abhorred. The kind- 
ness of a learned friend, the Rev. Charles Minchin, has 
supplied me with an instance of singular practising* on the 
"testimonies of divines of the Church of England. The 
testimonies of Hooker and Jeremy Taylor on this subject," 
observes the Editor of the Irish Gentleman's Travels, 
** though well known, are of too much importance not to 
be added to the above authorities. Iwish^ says Hooker^ men 
would give themselves more time to meditate with silence on 
what we have in the sacrament^ and less to dispute the manner 
how, Sith we all agree that Christ hy the sacrament doth 
really aiid truly peft^ form in us his promise, why do we vainly 
trouble ourselves with so fierce contentions, whether by comub- 
stantiation or eke tramtcbstantiation ? Ecclesiastical Polity.^' 
In this passage, as quoted by the Irish Gentleman, there 
are, as it would seem, two sentences each of them com- 
plete, and the entire appearing one continuous extract. 
The reader wlio wishes to verify the quotation will find, by 
referring to the Fifth Book of Hooker's Ecclesiastical Po- 
lity, that it consists of two fragments of sentences, one of 
wiiich he will find at page 286, Vol. II. of the London edi- 
tion, 1830, and the other, separated by three pages of close 
print at 289, the interval being occupied by explanations 
which leave it impossible to misunderstand the meaning of 
the expressions which " the Travels" have recited. For 
example, the following sentence which is found a little 
before the Traveller's concluding fragment, indicates with 
sufficient clearness that Hooker was not advocating transub- 
stantiation. "If on all sides it be confessed that the grace 
of baptism is poured into the soul of man ; that by water 
we receive it, although it be neither seated in the water nor 
the water changed into it, what should induce men to think 
that the grace of the Eucharist must needs be in the Eucharist 
before it be in us that receive it." One would be tempted 
almost to call the hardihood which could produce two frag- 
ments divided by such a sentence as this, and write them 



304 



APPENDIX. 



into the semblance of a testimony for Roman doctrine, an 
instance of boldness having few parallels ; but in the Church 
of Rome there are many such. There appears too, under 
the influence of that Church, to be a uniformity of falsifi- 
cation, which but for the miracles which characterize it, 
would seem unaccountable ; Doctor Milner, in his End of 
Controversy, having* mangled and misassorted the sentences 
with precisely the same happy rashness as the Irish Gen- 
tleman. 

** When these things do so conjointly meet,'^ &c. 



APPENDIX III. 
Cone. Trid. Sess. 22, Dec. de Obs. 

" Since the many things, whether through infelicity of 
the times, or neglect of men and their improbity, appear to 
have crept in, which are alien from the dignity of so great 
a sacrifice, &c. &c. the holy Synod decrees, that bishops, 
&c. &c. shall take away whatever either avarice, the service 
of idols, or irreverence which can scarcely be separated 
from impiety, or superstition, the spurious counterfeit of 
true piety, has introduced." 



THE END. 



ENCYCLOPAEDIA AMERICANA. 



" Witnesses from every part of the country concurred in declaring that the 
Encyclopasdia Americana was in a fair way to degrade the dignity of learning, 
and etjpecially the learning of Encyclopjedias, by making it too cheap — that the 
multitudes of all classes were infatuated with it in saying in so many words 
from the highest to the lowest, ' the more we see of the work the better vve like 
it.' " — vV. Y. Courier and Inquirer. 

The articles in the present volume appear to us to evince the same ability 
and research which gained so favorable a reception for the work at its com- 
jnencement. The Appendix to the volume now before us, containing an account 
of the Indian Languages of America, must prove highly interesting to the reader 
in this country; and it is at once remarkable as a specimen of history and phi- 
lology. The work altogether, we may again be permitted to observe, rejects 
dietiaguished credit upon the literary and scientific character, as well as the 
scho!arship of our country." — Charleston Courier. 

"The copious information which this work aifords on American subjects, 
fully justifies its title of an American Dictionary; while at the same time the 
extent, variety, and felicitous disposition of its topics, make it the most conve- 
nient and satisfactory Encyclopcedia that we have ever seen." — J^TationalJournal. 

" If the succeeding volumes shall equal in merit the one before us, we may 
confidently anticipate for the work a reputation and usefulness which ought to 
secure for it the most flattering encouragement and patronage." — Federal Oazetie. 

" The variety of topics is of course vast, and they are treated in a manner 
which is at once so full of inform.ition and so interesting, that the work, instead 
of being merely referred to, might be regularly ])erused with as much pleasure as 
profit." — Baltimore American. 

"We view it as a publication worthy of the age and of the country, and can- 
not but believe the discrimination of our countrymen will sustain the publish- 
ers, and well reward them for this contribution to American Literature." — Bal- 
a more Patriot. 

" It reflects the greatest credit on those who have been concerned in its pro- 
duction, and promises, in a variety of respects, to be the best as well as the most 
compendious dictionary of the arts, sciences, history, politics, biography, &c. 
which has yet been compiled. The style of the portion we have read is terse 
and perspicuous; and it is really curious how so much scientific and other in- 
formation could have been so satisfactorily communicated in such brief limits." 
— ^V. Y. Evening Post. 

" A compendious library, and invaluable book of reference." — JV'. Y. American. 

"Those who can, by any honest modes of economy, reserve the sum of two 
dollars and fifty cents quarterly, from their family expenses, may pay for this 
work as fast as it is published ; and we confidently believe that they will find at 
the end that they never purchased so much general, practical, useful information 
at so cheap a rate." — Journal of Education. 

" If the encouragement to the publishers should correspond with the testimony 
in favor of their enterprise, and the beautiful and faithful style of its execution, 
the hazard of the undertaking, bold as it was, will be well compensated; and 
our libraries will be enriched by the most generally useful encyclope-iic diction- 
ary that has been offered to the readers of the English language. Full enough 
for the general scholar, and plain enough for every capacity, it is far more con- 
venient, in every view and form, than its more expensive and ponderous prede- 
cessors." — American Farmer. 

"The high reputation of the contributors to this work, will not fail to insure 
it a favorable reception, and its own merits will do the resV—Sillimaji's Journ. 

" The work will be a valuable possession to every family or individual that 
can afflird to purchase it ; and we take pleasure, therefore, in extending ilie 
knowledge of its merits." — JVational Intelligencer. 

"The Encylopjedia Americana is a prodigious improvement upon al! that has 
gone before it ; a thing for our country, as well as the country that have it birth, 
to be proud of; an inexhaustible treasury of useful, pleasant, and familiar learn- 
ing on every possible subject, so arranged as to be speedily and safety referred to 
on emergency, as well as on deliberate inquiry; and better still, adapted to the 
understanding, and put within the reach of the multitude. * * * The Ency- 
clopsBdia Americana is a work without which no library worthy of the name 
can hereafter be made up." — Yankee, 



ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA. 



This work appears to improve as it issues from the press. The number of 
able writers, who contribute original matter in all the departments of literature 
and science is amply sufficient to give it celebrity and high character. To men 
engaged in the active pursuits of life— whose time is precious— this popular dic- 
tionary is a most valuable and ready mode of reference. It embraces brief 
views and sketches of all the late discoveries in science — and the present condi- 
tion of literature, politics, &c. &c. Every merchant's counting-room— every 
lawyer's library — every mechanic— every farmer ought to possess a copy of this 
useful and valuable work.''— Courier. 

"From the specimen which has already been given, we have no hesitation in 
saying, that in regard to intelligence, skill, and faithful diligence, it is a work 
of the very highest order. We know of no similar publication that can bear 
any comparison with it for the rich variety of valuable information, which it 
condenses within so small a campass. It is free from all the narrowness of Eng- 
lish prejudice, it contains many important and interesting details which can be 
found in no English production, and is a work which could be written by none 
but German scholars, more than two hundred of whom were employed in the 
original compilation." — Boston Observer. 

" Tiiis cannot but prove a valuable addition to the literature of the age."— 
Mer. Advertiser. 

" The vast circulation this work has had in Europe, where it has already been 
reprinted in four or five languages, not to speak of the numerous German edi- 
tions, of which SEVEN have been published, speaks loudly in favor of its intrinsic 
merit, without which such a celebrity could never have been attained. To every 
man engaged in public business, who needs a correct and ample book of refier- 
ence on various topics of science and letters, the Encyclopaedia Americana will 
he almost invaluable. To individuals obliged to go to situations where books 
are neither numerous nor easily procured, the rich contents of these twelve vol- 
umes will prove a mine which will amply repay its purchaser, and be with diffi- 
culty exhausted ; and we recommend it to their patronage in the full conviction 
of its worth. Indeed, it is difficult to say to what class of readers such a book 
would not prove useful, nay, almost indispensable, since it combines a great 
aniou^it of valuable matter in small compass, and at moderate expense, and is 
in every respect well suited to augment the reader's stock of ideas, and powers 
of conversation, v.ithout severely taxing time or fatiguing attention."— jfm 
Daily .Advertiser. 

" The department of American Biography, a subject of which it should be dis- 
graceful to be ignorant, to the degree that many are, is, in this work, a promi- 
nent feature, and has received the attention of one of the most indefatigable 
writers in this department of literature, which the present age can furnish."— 
Boslon Courier. 

" According to the plan of Dr. Lieber, a desideratum will be supplied ; the sub- 
stance of contemporary knowledge will be brought within a small compass ;— 
and the character and uses of a manual will be imparted to a kind of publica- 
tion heretofore reserved, on strong shelves, for occasional reference. By those 
who understand the German language, the Conversation Lexicon is consulted ten 
times for one application to any English Encyclopaedia." — JSTational Gazette. 

" The volume now published is not only highly honorable to the taste, ability, 
and industry of its editors and publishers, but furnishes a proud sample of the 
accuracy and elegance with which the most elaborate and important literary 
enterprises may now be accomplished in our country. Of the manner in which 
the editors have thus far completed their task, it is impossible, in the course of a 
brief newspaper article, to speak with adequate justice." — Boston Bulletin. 

"It continues to be particularly rich in the departments of Biography and 
Natural History. When we look at the large mass of miscellaneous knowledge 
spread before the reader, in a form which has never been equalled for its conden- 
sation, and conveyed in a style that cannot be surpaissed for propriety and per- 
spicuity, we cannot but think that the American Encyclopaedia deesrves a 
place in every collection, in which works of reference form a portion." — South- 
ern Patriot. 

'* By far tlse best work of the kind ever offered for sale in this country.'*- 

U. S. Qaz 



1 



CABmET CYCIiOPiEDIA, 

CONDUCTED BY THE 

REV. DIONYSIUS LARDNER. LL.D. F.R.S. L.&.E. 
M.R.I. A. F.L.S. F.Z.S. Hon. F. CPS. M. Ast. S. &c. &c. 

ASSISTED BY 



EMINENT LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN. 



Now Publishing by Carey, Lea, ^ Blanchard, and for sale by all Booksellers. 

This work will form a popular compendium of whatever is useful, instructive, 
i nd interesting, in the circle of human knowledge. A novel plan of publication 
and arrangement has been adopted, which presents peculiar advantages. With- 
out fully detailing the method, a few of these advantages may be mentioned. 

Each volume will contain one or more subjects uninterrupted and unbroken, 
and will be accompanied by the corresponding plates or other appropriate illus- 
trations. Facility of reference will be obtained without fettering the work by 
a continued alphabetical arrangement. A subscriber may omit particular vol- 
umes or sets of volumes, without disintegrating his series. Thus each purchaser 
may form from the "Cabinet" a Cyclopsedia, more or less comprehensive, as 
may suit his means, taste, or profession. If a subscriber desire to discontinue 
the work at any stage of its publication, the volumes which he may have re- 
ceived will not lose their value by separation from the rest of the work, since 
they will always either be complete in themselves, or may be made so at a trifling 
expense. 

The purchasers will never find their property in this work destroyed by the 
publication of a second edition. The arrangement is such that particular vol- 
umes may be re-edited or re-written without disturbing the others. The "Cabi- 
net Cyclopedia " will thus be in a state of continual renovation, keeping pace 
with the never-ceasing improvements in knowledge, drawing within its circle 
fro.n year to year whatever is new, and casting off whatever is obsolete, so as to 
form a constantly modernized Cyclopaedia. Such are a few of the advantages 
which the proprietors have to offer to the public, and which they pledge them- 
selves to realize. 

Treatises on subjects which are technical and professional will be adapted, 
not so much to those who desire to attain a practical proficiency, as to those 
who seek that portion of information respecting such matters which is generally 
expected from well-educated persons. An interest will be imparted to what is 
abstract by copious illustrations, and the sciences will be rendered attractive, by 
treating them with reference to the most familiar objects and occurrences. 

The unwieldly bulk of Encyclopaedias, not less than the abstruse discussions 
which they contain, has hitherto consigned them to the library, as works of only 
occasional reference. The present work, from ite portable form and popular style, 
will claim a place in the drawing-room and the boudoir. Forming in itself a 
Complete Library, affording an extensive and infinitely varied store of instruc- 
tion and amusement, presenting just so much on every subject as those not pro- 
fessionally engaged in it require, convenient in size, attractive in form, elegant 
in illustrations, and most moderate in expense, the "Cabinet CvcLOPiEDiA" will, 
it is hoped, be found an object of paramount interest in every family. 

To the heads of schools and all places of public education the proprietors trust 
that this work will particularly recommend itself 

It seems scarcely necessary to add, that nothing will be admitted into the 
pages of the " Cabinet CYCLOPa:DiA" which can have the most remote tendency 
to offend public or private morals. To enforce the cultivation of religion and 
the practice of virtue should be a principal object with all who undertake to 
inform the public mind ; but with the views just explained, the conductor of this 
work feels these considerations more especially pressed upon his attention. 
Parents and guardians may, therefore, rest assured that they will never find it 
necessary to place a volume of the " Cabinet " beyond the reach of their children 
or pupils. 



LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPEDIA. 



Considerable progress having been made in this work, the publishers 
wish to direct the attention of the public to the advantages by which it 
is distinguished from other similar monthly publications. 

It is not intended that the Cabinet Cyclopaedia shall form an intermi- 
nable series, in which any work of interest which may present itself from 
time to time can claim a place. Its subjects are classified according to 
the usual divisions of literature, science, and art. Each division is distinctly 
traced out, and will consist of a determinate number of volumes. Al- 
though the precise extent of the work cannot be fixed with certainty, yet 
there is a limit which will not be exceeded ; and the subscribers may look 
forward to the possession, within a reasonable time, of a complete library 
of instruction, amusement, and general reference, in the regular form of 
a popular Cyclopaedia. 

The several classes of the work are— 1, NATURAL PHILOSOPHY; 2, 
The USEFUL and FINE ARTS; 3, NATURAL HISTORY; 4, GEOG- 
RAPHY; 5, POLITICS and MORALS; 6, GENERAL LITERATURE 
and CRITICISM ; 7, HISTORY ; 8, BIOGRAPHY. 

In the above abstruse and technical departments of knowledge, an at- 
tempt has been made to convey to the reader a general acquaintance with 
these subjects, by the use of plain and familiar language, appropriate 
and well-executed engravings, and copious examples and illustrations, 
taken from objects and evenly with which every one is acquainted. 

The proprietors formerly pledged themselves that no exertion should 
be ^spared to obtain the support of the most distinguished talent of the age. 
They trust that they have redeemed that pledge. Among tho volumes 
already published in the literary department, no less than four have been 
the production of men v*ho stand in the first rank of literary talent, — Sir 
James Mackintosh and Sir Walter Scott, in the scientific department, a 
work has been produced from the pen of Mr. Herschel, which has been 
pronounced by the highest living authority on subjects of general philoso- 
phy, to contain " the noblest observations on the value of knowledge 
which have been made since Bacon," and to be " the finest work of phi- 
losophical genius which this age has seen." 



The following is a selection from the list of Contributors. 

The Right Honorable Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH. M.P. 
The Right Rev The Lord Bishop of Cloyne. 
Sir WALTER SCOTT, Bart. 

JOHN FREDERICK WILLIAM HERSCHEL, Esq. 
THOMAS MOORE, Esq. 
J. B. RIOT, Member of the French Institute. 
ROBERT SOUTHEY, Esq. Poet Laureate. 

Th^ Baron CHARLES DUPIN, Member of the Royal Institute and 

Chamber of Deputies. 
THOMAS CAMPBELL, Esq. T. B. MACAULEY, Esq. M.P, 

DAVID BREWSTER, LL.D. J. C. L. SISMONDI, of Geneva. 

Capt. HENRY KATER, Vice President of the Royal Society. 
Tno ASTRONOMER ROYAL. DA VIES GILBERT, Esq. M.P. 
S. T. COLERIDGE, Esq. JAMES MONTGOMERY, Esq. 

The Right Hon. T. P. COURTENAY, M.P. 
J. J. Bf':RZELlUS, of Stockholm, F.R.S., &c. 
The Rev. G. R. GLEIG. 
T, PHILLIPS, Esq. Prof of Painting, R.A. 
Rev. C. THIRLWALL, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
ANDREW URE, M.D. F.R.S. &c. &c. &e. 



VOIiUMES PUBIilSHED. 

r. II.— HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. By Sir Walter Scott. 

III. VI.— HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By Sir James Mackintosh. In 
8 Vols. Vols. I. and II. 

IV. — OUTLINES OF HISTORY. 

v.— HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS. By T. C. Grattan, Esq. 
VII. Vlll. XII.— HISTORY OF FRANCE. By Eyre Evans Crowe. In 
3 Vols. 

IX.— MECHANICS. By Capt. Kater and Dr. Lardner, (complete.) 

X— A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE on the OBJECTS, ADVAN- 
TAGES, and pleasures OF the STUDY of NATURAL PHI- 
LOSOPHY. In 1 Vol. By F, J. W. Herschel, Esq. 

N B. — ^This work forms the Introduction or jPreface to the Cabinet 
of Natural Philosophy in the CyclopaBdia. 

XI.— BIOGRAPHY of EMINENT BRITISH STATESMEx\. 

Xni.— HYDROSTATICS and PNEUMATICS. By Dr. Lardner. 

XiV.— HISTORY OF the PROGRESS and PRESENT SITUATION 
OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE. 

XV— HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. By J.C. L. Sismondi. 

XVL— HISTORY of the PROGRESS and PRESENT STATE 
OF THE MANUFACTURE of PORCELAIN and GLASS. 

XVII. XVHL XX. XXL XXII.— HISTORY of SPAIN and 
PORTUGAL. 5 vols. 

XIX.— HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND. 

XXIII.— HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By Sir James Mackintosh. 
Vol. IL 



Volumes in immediate preparation. 



A HISTORY OF IRELAND, to the UNION. In 2 Vols. By T. Moors, 
'Esq. 

A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE on the USEFUL ARTS and MANU- 
FACTURES. By the Baron Charles Dupin, Member of the Institute 
of France and of the Chamber of Deputies. 

A HISTORY OF the MOORS. In 3 Vols. By Robert Southey, Esq. 

LIVES OF the MOST EMINENT LITERAIIY MEN of ALL NaJ 
TIOA'S. In 8 Vols. By Sc!Ott, Southey, Moore, Mackintosh, 
MoNTGO^iERY, CuNNiNGHAM, and all the principal Literary and Scien- j 
tiiic Contributors to the Cyclopsedia. 

A l^REATiSE ON ASTRONOMY. By J. F. W. Herschel, Esq. j 

GEOGRAPHY. In 4 Vols. By W. Cooley, Esq. author of the " History 
of Maritime Discovery." | 

LIVES OF the most DISTINGUISHED BRITISH NAVAL COM- 
MANDERS. By R. Southey, Esq. H 

LIVES of the most DISTINGUISIUlD BRITISH MILITARY COM- 
MANDERS. By the Rev. G. R. Gleig. 

The HISTORY of GREECE. In 3 vols. By the Rev. C. Thirlwall. 

LiVES OF EMINEINT BRITISH AR'JISTS. By W. Y. Otley, Esq. 
and T. Phillips, II. A. Frofespor of Pa ntine to the Royal Academy. 

A TREATiS?: ON ELECTRiClTY and MAGNETxSM. By M. Biot. 
Membct" of the French Institule. 1 



LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA. 



"books that YOC may carry to the 7IRE, AND HOLD READILY IN YOUR 
HAND, ARE THE MOST USEFDL AFTER ALL. A MAN WILL OFTEN LOOK AT 
THEM, AND BE TEMPTED TO GO ON, WHEN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN FRIGHTENED 
AT BOOKS OF A LARGER SIZE, AND OF A MORE ERUDITE APPEARANCE." 

Dr. Johnson. 

"We advisedly call the Cabinet Cyclopaedia a great undertaking, because we 
consider, that in its effects on the tone and habits of thought of what is known 
by the phrase, ' the reading public,' it will be, if carried through in the spirit of 
its projection and commencement, one of the most invaluable productions of 
modern literature. * * 

" But these advantages, eminent as they undoubtedly are, are not the sole nor 
the chief recommendations of the Cabinet Cyclopedia. Neither is it on the ex- 
treme cheapness of the publication, noi the federal independence— if we may so 
speak— of its several volumes, that we rest our prediction of its influence on the 
tone of thinking of the present, and on the literature of the next generation— 
but on the proniise, amounting almost to a moral certainty, of the great excel- 
lence of its execution. A multitude of persons eminent in literature and science 
in the United kingdom are employed in this undertaking; and, indeed, no others 
should be employed in it ; for it is a truth that the profound and practised writer 
alone is capable of furnishing a ' popular compendium.' 

'* What parent or guardian that throws his eye over the list of its contributors 
but must be rejoiced by meeting the names of those who are in themselves a 
guarantee of intellectual and moral excellence ?"—Z,ifcrary Gazette. 

"The plan of the work appears well adapted to the purpose it is proposed to 
fulfil— that of supplying a series of publications, embracing the whole range of 
literature and science, in a popular and portable form ; while the excellence of 
the execution is guarantied by the judgment displayed in the selection of writers. 
The list of authors employed in this ambitious undertaking comprises some of 
the most eminent men of the present age." — Atlas. 

" Tlie Cyclopa)dia, when complete, will form a valuable work of reference, as 
v/ell as a most entertaining and in.«tructive library. It is an essential principle 
in every part of it, that it should be clear and easily understood, and that an 
attempt should everywhere be made to unite accurate information with an 
agreeable manner of conveying it. It is an experiment to try how much science 
may be taught with little crabbed or technical language, and how far the philo 
sophical and poetical qualities of history may be preserved in its more condensed 
state. It possesses also the most indispensable of all the qualities of a work 
intended for general instruction — that of cheapness. Whatever the plan might 
be, it was evident that the grand difficulty of Dr. Lardner was to unite a body 
of writers in its execution, whose character or works afforded the most probable 
hope that they were fitted for a task of which the peculiarity, the novelty, ancl 
even the prevalent relish for such writings greatly enhance the difficulty. We 
do not believe, that in the list of contributors, there is one name of whicii the 
enlightened part of the public v/ould d( .^ire the exclusion. 

" In science, the list is not less promising. The names of the President, Vice- 
Pres?idents, and most distinguished Fellows of the Royal Society, are contained 
in it. A treatise on astronomy, by Herschel ; on optics, by Brewster; and on 
mechanics, by Lardner ; need be only recommended by the subjects and the wri- 
ters. An eminent Prelate, of the first rank in science, has undertaken a noble 
subject which happily combines philosophy with religion. Twelve of the most 
distinguished naturalists of the agn. Fellows of the Linn?Ran and Zoological 
Societies, are preparing a course of natural history. Others not less eminent in 
literature and science, whose names it is not needful yet to mention, have shovr n 
symptoms of an ambition to take a place among such fellow-laborers."— r«mes. 

"The topics, as maybe supposed, are both juaicionsly selected and treated | 
with ability. To general readers, and as part of a family library, the volumes 
already published iK)Sses3 great recommendations. For the external beauties of 
good printing and paper they merit equal couuneiidalion."— j5a/L Jlmerican. 

" The uniform neatness of these volumes, their very moderate price, and tiie 
quantity of information which they contain, drawn from the best and most 
attractive sources, have given them deserved celebrity, and no one v. ho desires 
to popsess such information, should hesitate a monierjt to add Ihern to his 
library." — Fed. Oa-elte. 

" This excnilent work continues to increase in public favor, and to receive 
fresh accessions of force to iff? corpf, of contributors "'—Lit. Oaietfs. 

" Its plan and arrai'.genicni are entitled to our best commendations."— (7en£. 



LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPEDIA. 



"It is not easy to devise a cure for such a state of things (the de- 
ciiNiNO taste for science;) but the most obvious remedy is to provide 

THE EDUCATED CLASSES WITH A SERIES OF WORKS ON POPULAR AND PRACTI- 
CAL SCIENCE, FREED FROM MATHEMATICAL SYMBOLS AND TECHNICAL TERMS, 
WRITTEN IN SIMPLE AND PERSPICUOUS LANGUAGE, AND ILLUSTRATED BY FACTS 
AND EXPERIMENTS, WHICH ARE LEVEL TO THE CAPACITY OF ORDINARY MINDS." 

Quarterly Review. 



PREIilMINARY mSCOURSE ON THE OBJECTS, ADVAN- 
TAGES, AND PliEASURES OP THE STUDY OF NATU- 
RAL PHIIiOSOPHY. By J. T. W. Herscliel, A, late Fel- 
low of Stt Jolin's College, Camlbridge* 

" Without disparaging any other of the many interesting and instructive \^o!- 
umes issued in the form of cabinet and family libraries, it is, perhaps, not too 
ftiuch to place at the head of the list, for extent and variety of condensed infor- 
mation, Mr. Herchel's discourse of Natural Philosophy in Dr. Lardner's Cyclo- 
paedia." — Christian Observer. 

" The finest work of philosophical genius which this age has seen." — Mackin- 
tosh's England. 

" By far the most delightful book to which the existing competition between 
literary rivals of great talent and enterprise has given rise.'"— Monthly Review. 

" Mr. Herschel's delightful volume. * * * We find scattered through the 
tvork instances of vivid and happy illu^ration, where the fancy is usefully called 
into action, so as sometimes to remind us of the splendid pictures which crowd 
upon us in the style of Bacon." — Quarterly Revietc. 

" It is the most exciting volume of the kind we ever met with."'— Monthly 
Magazine. 

"One of the most instructive and delightful books we have ever perused." — 
U. S. Journal. 



A TREATISE ON MECHANICS. By Capt. Kater, and tlie 
Rev. Diouysiiis liardiier. Witli numerous engravings. 

" A work which contains an uncommon amount of useful information, ex. 
hibited in a plain and very intelligible form." — Olmsted's JVat. Philosophy. 

"This volume has been lately published in England, as a part of Dr. Lardner's 
Cabinet Cyclopaedia, and has received the unsolicited approbation of the most 
eminent men of science, and the most discriminating journals and reviews, in 
the British metropolis.— It is written in a popular and intelligible style, entirely 
free from mathematical symbols, and disencumbered as far as possible of tech- 
nical phrases." — Boston Traveller. 

" Admirable in development and clear in principles, and especially felicitous in 
illustration from familiar subjects." — Monthly Mag. 

" Though replete with philosophical information of the highest order in me- 
chanics, adapted to ordinary capacities in a way to render it at once intelligihi.- 
and popular."— Z»«. Gazette. 

" A work of great merit, full of valuable information, not only to the practicii^ 
inechanic, but to the man of science." — JV. Y. Courier and Enquirer. 



A TREATISE ON HYDROSTATICS AND PNEUMATICS. 
By tlie Rev. D. Xiardner. Witli numerous engravings. 

" It fully sustairs the favorable opinion we have already expressed as to this 
valuable compendium of modern science." — Lit. Gazette. 

" Dr. Lardner has made a good use of his acquaintance with the familiar facts 
which illustrate the principles of science." — Monthly Magazine. 

It is written with a full knowledge of the subject, and in a popular style, 
abotinding in practical illustrations of the abstruse operations of these impor- 
tant sciences." — U. S. Journal. 



LARDNER S CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA- 



HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, and PRESENT 
STATE OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE ; with numerous 
engravings. 

" The volume treats of everything relating to the fabric, embracing many 
historical observations and interesting facts in natural history, with practical 
directions of the minutest kind, for the guidance of those engaged in the pro- 
duction or the manufacture of silk. These details, with the accompanying en- 
gravings of machinery, must prove particularly valuable to those who wish to 
attain an accurate knowledge of a very important art, on the history of which 
alone the general reader will find much to interest him in the first part of the 
volume."— JV. Y. American. 

" It contains abundant information in every department of this interesting 
branch of human industry — in the history, culture, and manufacture of silk." 
— Monthly Magazine. 

" There is a great deal of curious information in this little volume. "-Zi«. Oai. 

HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS ; being a View of 
the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Italian Freedom. By J. C. L» 
De Sismondi. 

"The excellencies, defects, and fortunes of the governments of the Italian 
commonwealths form a body of the most valuable materials for political phi- 
losophy. It is time that they should be accessible to the American people, as 
they are about to be rendered in Sisinondi's masterly abridgment. He has done 
for his largo work, what Irving accomplished so well for his Life of Columbus." 
—JYat. Gazette. 

HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, and PRESENT 

STATE OF THE MANUFACTURES of PORCELAIN 

AND GLASS. With numerous wood cuts. 
HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, and PRESENT 

STATE OF THE IRON and STEEL MANUFACTURE. 

(In press.) 

" This volume appears to contain all useful information on the subject of 
which it treats." — Lit. Gazette. 

" These volumes are full of interest. * * * The present volume embraces the 
manufactures of Iron and Steel only, and describes the present state of the 
more important branches of both. Bridges, cannon, anchors, chains, screws, 
figure in the first department — files, edge-tools, and saws, the latter; and the 
history of all forms not the least interesting portion." — Mechanic's Magazine 

BIOGRAPHY OF BRITISH STATESMEN; containing the 
Lives of Sir Thomas More, by Sir James Mackintosh ; Car- 
dinal Wolsey, Archbishop Cranmer, and Lord Burleigh. 

" A very dciiiihf ful volume, and on a subject likely to increase in interest as 
it proceeds. * * * We cordially commend the work both for its design and ex- 
ecution." — London Lit. Gazette. 

"The Life of More, being from the pen of Sir James Mackintosh, engaged 
and fully rewarded our attention. It is a rich theme, and has been treated 
with the lofty philosophical spirit and literary skill which distinguish the 
writings of Sir James." — J^at. Gazette. 

" We are certain, that no one can rise from the perusal of the work, without 
havifi}? his understanding enlarged, and the best aflTections of his heart im- 
pri>v(!(]." — Jl/lium. 

' A most interesting and valuable volume." — Gent. Magazine. 

ELEMENTS of OPTICS. By David Brewster. 18mo. 

' The aijlhor has given proof of his well-known industry, and extensive .jo 
q'lainrance with tha results of science in every part of Europe."— Jl/owifA. Mag. 
" The subjeci is, as might bj e.Kpected, ably treated, and clearly illustrated." 
U. S. Jovr. 



LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPEDIA. 



HISTORY OF EIVGIiAJffD. By Sir James Mackiiatosh. In 8 
Vols. Vols. 1, 2 and 3 pnl>lislied. 

*' In the first volume of Sir James Mackintosh's History of England, we find 
enough to warrant the anticipations of the public, that a calm and luminous 
philosophy will diffuse itself over the long narrative of our British History."— 
Edinburgh Review. 

" In this volume Sir James Mackintosh fully developes those great powers, for 
the possession of which the public have long given him credit. The result is the 
ablest commentary that has yet appeared in our language upon some of the most 
important circumstances of English History."— ^iZas. 

" Worthy in the method, style, and reflections, of the author's high reputation. 
We were particularly pleased with his high vein of philosophical sentiment, aud 
his occasional survey of contemporary annals." — JsTational Oazette. 

" If talents of the highest order, long experience in politics, and years of ap- 
plication to the study of history and the collection of information, can command 
superiority in a historian, Sir James Mackintosh may, without reading this work, 
be said to have produced the best history of this country. A perusal of the 
work will prove that those who anticipated a superior production, have not reck- 
oned in vain on the high qualifications of the author." — Courier. 

" Our anticipations of this volume were certainly very highly raised, and un- 
like such anticipations in general, they have not been disappointed. A philo- 
sophical spirit, a nervous style, and a full knowledge of the subject, acquired by- 
considerable research into the works of preceding chroniclers and historians, 
eminently distinguish this popular abridgment, and cannot fail to recommend it 
to universal approbation. In continuing his work as he has begun. Sir James 
Mackintosh will confer a great benefit on his country." — Lond. Lit. Oazette. 

" Of its general merits, and its permanent value, it is impossible to speak, 
without the highest commendation, and after a careful and attentive perusal of 
the two volumes which have been published, we are enabled to declare that, so 
far, Sir James Mackintosh has performed the duty to which he was assigned, 
with all the ability that was to be expected from his great previous attainments, 
his laborious industry in investigation, his excellent judgment, his superior tal- 
ents, and his honorable principles." — Inquirer. 

" We shall probably extract the whole of his view of the reformation, merely 
to show how that important topic has been handled by so able and philosophical 
a writer, professing Protestantism. — JVational Oazette. 

" The talents of Sir James Mackintosh are so justly and deeply respected, that 
a strong interest is necessarily excited with regard to any work which such a 
distinguished writer may think fit to undertake. In the present instance, as in 
all others, our expectations are fully gratified." — Oentleman's Magazine. 

" The second volume of the History of England, forming the sixth of Carey & 
Lea's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, has been sent abroad, and entirely sustains the repu- 
tation of its predecessors. The various factions and dissensions, the important 
trials and battles, which render this period so conspicuous in the page of history, 
ore all related: with great clearness and masterly power." — Boston Traveller. 



mSTORT OF SCOTIiAND. By Sir Walter Scott. In 3 Vols. 

" The History of Scotland, by Sir Walter Seott, we do not hesitate to declare, 
will be, if possible, more extensively read, than the most popular work of fiction, 
by the same prolific author, and for this obvious reason: it combines much of the 
brilliant coloring of the Ivanhoe pictures of by gone manners, and all the grace- 
ful facility of style and picturesqueness of description of his other charming ro- 
mances, with a minute fidelity to the facts of history, and a searching scrutiny 
into their authenticity and relative value, which might put to the blush Mr. 
Hume and other professed historians. Such is the magic charm of Sir Walter 
Scott's pen, it has only to touch the simplest incident ofevery-day life, and it starts 
lip invested with all the interest of a scene of romance ; and yet such is his fideli- 
ty to the text of nature, that the knights, and serfs, and collared fools with whom 
his inventive genius has peopled so many volumes, are regarded by us as not 
mere creations of fancy, but as real flesh and blood existences, with all the vir- 
turs, feelings and errors of common-place humanity." — Lit. Oazette. 



LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPEDIA. 



*' OF THE MANY WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN LATELY PUBLISHED IN IMITATION, OR 
ON THE PLAN ADOPTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOW- 
LEDGE, DR. LARDNER'S CYCLOPAEDIA IS BY MUCH THE MOST VALUABLE, AND 
THE MOST RECOMMENDED BY DISTINGUISHED ASSISTANCE, SCIENTIFIC AND LIT- 

ETARY." — Edinburgh Review. 



HISTORY OF FRANCE. By Eyre Evans Crowe* In 3 vols. 

HISTORY OF FRA3VCE, from tlic Restoration of tlie Bonr- 
lions, to tlie Revolution of 1830. By T. B. Macaulay, Esq. 
M. P. Nearly ready. 

" The style is concise and clear ; and events are summed up with much vigor 
and originality."— Zit. Oazette. 

" His history of France is worthy to figure with the works of his associates, 
the best of their day, Scott and Mackintosh." — Monthly Mag. 

" For such a task Mr. Crowe is eminently qualified. At a glance, as it were, 
his eye takes in the theatre of centuries. His style is neat, clear, and pithy ; and 
his power of condensation enables him to say much, and effectively, in a few 
words, to present a distinct and perfect picture in a narrowly circumscribed 
space." — La Belle Assemhlee. 

" The style is neat and condensed ; the thoughts and conclusions sound and 
just. The necessary conciseness of the narrative is unaccompanied by any 
baldness ; on the contrary, it is spirited and engaging." — Bait. American. 

"To compress the history of a great nation, during a period of thirteen hun- 
dred years, into two volumes, and to preserve sufficient distinctness as well as 
interest in the narrative, to enable and induce the reader to possess himself 
clearly of all the leading incidents, is a task by no means easily executed. It 
has, nevertheless, been well accomplished in this instance."— JV. Y. American. 

" Written with spirit and taste."— CT; S. Gazette. 

" Could we but persuade our young friends to give these volumes a careful 
perusal, we should feel assured of their grateful acknowledgments of profit and 
pleasure."— JV. Y. Mirror. 

At once concise and entertaining."— -SafMrtfay Bulletin, 



THE HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, to the Battle of 
Waterloo. By T. C. Grattan. 

" It is but justice to Mr. Grattan to say that he has executed his laborious 
task with much industry and proportionate effect. Undisfigured by pompous 
nothingness, and without any of the aflTectation of philosophical profundity, his 
style is simple, light, and fresh— perspicuous, smooth, and harmonious."— Zo 
Belle Assemblee. 

"Never did work appear at a more fortunate period. The volume before us 
is a compressed but clear and impartial narrative."— Zit. Gaz. 

" A long residence in the country, and a ready access to libraries and archives, 
have furnished Mr. Grattan with materials which he has arranged with skill, 
and out of which he has produced a most interesting volume."— Gc7i«. Mag. 



BIOGRAPHY OF BRITISH STATESMEN; containing the 
I*ives of Sir Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey, Archhishop 
Cranmer, and liord Burleigh. 

" A very delightful volume, and on a subject likely to increase in interest as it 
proceeds. * * * We cordially commend the work both for its design and 
execution." — Lo7id. Lit. Gazette. 



LARDNER S CABIiNET CYCLOPAEDIA. 



HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, and PRESENT 
STATE OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE ; with numerous 
engravings. 

•'It contains abundant information in every department of this interesting 
branch of human industry— in the history, culture, and manufacture of silk."— 
Monthly Magazine. 

*' There is a great deal of curious information in this little volume."— Oaz. 

fflSTORY OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS ; being a View of 
the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Italian Freedom. By J. ,C. L. 
De Sismondi. 

" The excellencies, defects, and fortunes of the governments of the Italian 
commonwealths, form a body of the most valuable materials for political phi- 
losophy. It is time that they should be accessible to the American people, as 
they are about to be rendered in Sismondi's masterly abridgment. He has done 
for his large work, what Irving accomplished so well for his Life of Columbus." 
— J^ational Gazette. 

HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, and PRESENT 
STATE OF THE MANUFACTURES of PORCELAIN and 
GLASS. With numerous Wood Cuts. 

" In the design and execution of the work, the author has displayed consider- 
able judgment and skill, and has so disposed of his valuable materials as to ren- 
der the book attractive and instructive to the general class of readers." — Sat. 
Evening Post. 

*' The author has, by a popular treatment, made it one of the most interesting 
books that has been issued of this series. There are, we believe, few of the 
useful arts less generally understood than those of porcelain and glass making. 
These are completely illustrated by Dr. Lardner, and the various processes of 
forming differently fashioned utensils, are fully described." 

HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, and PRESENT 
STATE OF THE IRON and STEEL MANUFACTURE. 
(In press.) 

"This volume appears to contain all useful information on the subject of 
which it treats."— Z,i«. Gazette. 

The history of SPAIN and PORTUGAL. In 5 vols. 

" A general History of the Spanish and Portuguese Peninsula, is a great de- 
sideratum in our language, and we are glad to see it begun under such favorable 
auspices. We have seldom met with a narrative which fixes attention more 
steadily, and bears the reader's mind along more pleasantly." 

" In the volumes before us, there is unquestionable evidence of capacity for 
the task, and research in the execution."— J7. S. Journal. 

" Of course this work can be but an abridgment ; but we know not where so 
much ability has been shown in condensation. It is unequalled, and likely 
long to remain so. * * We were convinced, on the publication of the first vol- 
ume, that it was no common compilation, manufactured to order ; we were pre- 
pared to announce it as a very valuable addition to our literature. *** Our 
last words must be, heartily to recommend it to our readers."— .^^Ae/?<^'M7J^. 

HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND. 

*' Like the preceding historical numbers of this valuable publication, 
abounds with interesting details, illustrative of the habits, character, and pol 
iCal complexion of the people and country it describes ; and aftbrds, in the sma 
space of one volume, a digest of all the important facts which, in more elabora 
histories, occupy five times the space." — Evening Post. 



MECHANICS, MANUFACTURES, &«• 



A PRACTICAL TREATISE on RAIL-ROADS, and INTE- 
RIOR COMMUNICATION in GENERAL— containing an 
account of the performances of the different Locomotive En- 
gines at, and subsequent to, the Liverpool Contest ; upwards of 
two hundred and sixty Experiments, with Tables of the com- 
parative value of Canals and Rail-roads, and the power of the 
present Locomotive Engines. By Nicholas Wood, Colliery 
Viewer, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, &c. 
8vo, With plates. 

" In this, the able author has brought up his treatise to the date of the latest 
improvements in this nationally important plan. We consider the volume to 
be one of great general interest." — Lit. Oaz. 

" We must, in justice, refer the reader to the work itself, strongly assuring 
him that, whether he be a man of science, or one totally unacquainted with its 
technical difficulties, he will here receive instruction and pleasure, in a degree 
which we have seldom seen united before." — Monthly Revietc. 

REPORTS ON LOCOMOTIVE and FIXED ENGINES. By 
J. Stephenson and J. Walker, Civil Engineers, With an 
Account of the Liverpool and Manchester Rail-road, by H. 
Booth. In 8vo. With plates. 

MILLWRIGHT and MILLER'S GUIDE. By Oliver Evans. 
New Edition, with additions and corrections, by the Professor 
of Mechanics in the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania, and a 
description of an improved Merchant Flour-Mill, with engrav- 
ings, by C. & O. Evans, Engineers. 

The nature and PROPERTIES of the SUGAR-CANE, 
with Practical Directions for its Culture, and the Manufacture 
of its various Products ; detailing the improved Methods of Ex- 
tracting, Boiling, Refining, and Distilling; also descriptions of 
the Best Machinery, and useful Directions for the general Man- 
agement of Estates. By George Richardson Porter. 

' This volume contains a valuable mass of scientific and practical informa- 
tion, and is, indeed, a compendium of everything interesting relative to colonial 
agriculture and Manufacture." — Intelligence. 

" We can altogether recommend this volume as a most valuable addition to 
the library of the home West India merchant, as well as that of the resident 
planter."— Z,j?. Gazette. 

ELEMENTS of MECHANICS. By James Renwick, Esq. 
Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Columbia 
College, N. Y. In 8vo. with, numerous engravings. 

"We think this decidedly the best treatise on Mechanics, which has issued 
fiom the American press, that we have seen ; one, too, that is alike creditable 
10 the writer, and to the state of science in this country."— Quar. Review. 

TREATISE on CLOCK and WATCH-MAKING, Theoretical 
and Practical, by Thomas Reid, Edinburgh Honorary Member 
of the Worshipful Company of Clock-Makers, London. Royal 
8vo. Illustrated by numerous plate& 




y Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 



^ -^^ ^ * ^ Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 

♦ cy «■ «rC\ Treatment Date: Jan. 2006 



PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 1606& 
1724)779-2111 



